


The journey to the End

by BeeKidd



Series: The Journey to the End [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Bad and Techno go thru shit, Basically everyone is having a hard time, Big monsters, Chaos, Dimension Travel, Dream and Tommy hang out, Dreams, Fundy tries his best, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Minecraft, Ponk jokes around, Spicy, Time Travel, Tommy obnoxiously screams, tiny humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:34:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27085654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeeKidd/pseuds/BeeKidd
Summary: Tommy wakes up in another world. Everything’s different, and so is mostly everyone else, but some others he knows don’t exist. It’s like they’re non-existent.With a turn of events Tommy must travel to the End to get back home. How fucked up will this go?
Relationships: Dream & Schlatt, Dream & Tommy, No Romantic Relationship(s), Ponk & Fundy, Quackity & Schlatt, Schlatt & Tommy, Techno & Bad, Wilbur & Tommy, techno & tommy, tommy & tubbo
Series: The Journey to the End [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2053395
Comments: 120
Kudos: 591





	1. The journey to the End

Tommy sat up. 

He rubbed his head, and sighed. He was frankly tired of waking up to the same thing. Yelling, fighting, basically violence. He just wanted a day of peace. Maybe no teams, for just a day, all of them hanging out. No grudges or fights.

Of course, that wasn’t possible at the moment. 

He yawned and hopped up out of bed. Strangely, something felt different. He was still in Pogtopia, but, something about it felt off. It was oddly quiet.  
Tommy furrowed his eyebrows, and his mouth formed a long line. He started to walk up the steps in the mine and opened a chest, taking out some food and armor, along with a sword. Always had to be prepared. 

He dug the dirt out and stepped out into the wilderness. He didn’t bother putting it back. Strangely, it always seemed to put itself back.  
He took out a sword just in case and strolled around. Not much would happen today, but Wilbur had asked him to meet him near Manburg. He wasn’t sure why. He started to hope that he wasn’t up to something, and that he and Quackity had truly convinced him that blowing up Manburg was not the right way to go.

Speaking of Quackity and Wilbur...

It was still quiet. He had gotten to Manburg, and it was still quiet. There had to be someone here. “. . uh, hello?” He whispered out, looking around. “Wilbur? You here?” 

Nothing.

Tommy grit his teeth. Where the hell was he? Tommy crouched and peeped his head up out of the grass, looking around. The wind was the only thing he could hear. 

Panic rose in his chest. 

Was he alone? Was everyone dead? They could just respawn, it wasn’t possible for them to actually be dead. Did everyone just leave and abandon him? Did they make up their mind that they were tired of the war, and left him?

Actually- despite the leaving part, that idea’d be nice. 

Okay.. Tommy slowly un-crouched. He pulled out a bow and an arrow. Where- “Tommy, man, what’s got you all tense?”

Tommy almost jumped out of his skin. He turned around and looked at the player with wide eyes. “I- Dream?” He breathed. Dream arched an eyebrow- wait, he had his mask off.  
Dream had his mask off. Tommy furrowed his brows. He had never seen the guy without his mask. “Do you have your..”

“My.. What? What are you talking about Tommy?” Dream smiled with a laugh. “Hey, come on. Can’t be late.” Tommy opened his mouth hesitantly, then closed it. Then, he opened it again and said, “Late for...” 

Dream sighed. He put a hand on Tommy’s head. Tommy raised his brows in surprise jumping back a bit, an uncomfy look on his face.  
“You feeling okay, Tom?” He asked. Tommy narrowed his eyes. “Don’t call me To-“ Dream glared back. “You’re warm.” Tommy was silent for a bit. He scoffed. “I’m feeling fine,” he took Dreams arm and pulled it away from his head, “not sick or anything.” 

“I’m more worried about.. You.” Worried was a weird way to put it. Dream frowned. “Well, I’m fine. Why are you worried about me?” He asked. Tommy looked around. No one else. He looked back a Dream. “First off- you- you have your mask off,” Dream gave a confused look, “you’re asking me if I’m okay, and being nice to me.” Tommy narrowed his eyes. “What’s your game?”

Dreams confused look turned into concern. “Why wouldn’t I be worried?” He asked. “You’re my best buddy! Of course I’d be worried about you.”  
Tommy frowned, and looked at Dream closely. If this was a dream, he wondered if his mind somehow made up his face. 

“I don’t know..” He hummed quietly. “Just.. Everything with Manburg and Pogtopia?” Dream blinked. “Manburg?” He furrowed his brows.  
“Yeah?” Tommy tilted his head. “Y’know.. You- what is with you?” He shook his head. “Why are you acting so weird?- is this some kind of set up? I know Wilburs plan to blow up Manburg didn’t work out but-“

“Who?” 

Tommy froze. Who? Tommy opened his mouth and stopped. “. . . Wilbur?” He replied quietly. “Wilbur Soot, you know.. You gave him the TNT, you offered to help him.. That Wilbur?”  
Dream stared at him for a minute, and shook his head slowly. He looked away and then back to Tommy. Worry washed up on Dreams face. “You really aren’t doing well, are you?.. Making up these people..” 

Tommy violently shook his head. “No! I’m not making it up- he’s real, I swear!” He held up his hands. “I’m serious, please.” 

Dream blinked. He took Tommy’s arm and pulled him. “Come on,” he said, “it doesn’t matter that we’re late anymore. I’m figuring out what’s up with you.” Tommy shook his head and grit his teeth. “Nothing! You just aren’t listening!”  
“Oh I’m listening alright.” Dream replied. “Listening to the nonsense your spitting out. Explain to me who this Wilbur is?” 

Tommy frowned and looked behind him. No one. He looked back, his feet skidding on the ground due to being pulled. 

“Uh- guy with brunette- brown?.. Brunette hair, beanie, really nice actually. Well- actually he went insane a few days back, I’m not really sure if he’s better now but me and Quackity managed to stop him from blowing up Manburg, y’know? It was really crazy. I thought we were all three gonna die right there! He ended up getting rid of the button but now that’s plan be- wait, why am I even telling you that part? Ignore that.” 

Tommy looked up. Dream had stopped and stared at him with wide eyes. He looked more concerned. Tommy didn’t get it. He was fine. He was sure Wilbur was a real person.  
Tommy felt more panic rising in his chest. If no one else was here, and Wilbur suddenly didn’t exist... What did that mean for him? He seemed to exist in Dreams eyes, but he already looked crazy. 

Dream slowly shook his head. He started to pull Tommy again, but more quickly this time. Great. Tommy should’ve just kept his mouth shut.  
He looked around. Everything looked the same. It was all normal, so why had this changed? How did a person that exist just suddenly not? Wilbur was a real person, and he was sure of it.

He heard Dream speak. “You said Quackity was there?” He asked. Tommy raised his brows and nodded. “Yeah..” He said slowly. Dream hummed a bit, and stopped. He turned to Tommy with a serious look on his face.  
“Then we’ll ask Quackity who this Wilbur is.” He said simply. “See if you’re telling the truth.” Tommy threw out his hands. “I am!” He exclaimed. “I am, I swear!” Dream shook his head. 

“Well, your making up names and people..” He said. “I know you like jokes and pranks, Tom, but this makes me worry.” Tommy glared. “Don’t call me Tom.” Dream frowned. He shrugged and turned around. “Come on, we’re halfway there.” 

They went through the woods. Tommy kept looking back expecting some ambush, but nothing. He wondered if Jschlatt would pop out. Maybe Dream was about to kill him off right then and there.

Ah, Wilbur was really rubbing off on him, wasn’t he?

Tommy looked back ahead of them. He furrowed his brows. This was the way to Pogtopia..  
He looked to Dream. “If this isn’t Manburg...” He said slowly. “Then, what is ir?” 

Dream glanced back and then looked back towards the path. “L’manburg.” He said. L’Manburg? Tommy’s mouth parted open slightly. He looked down. 

He wanted to stop asking questions. He surprisingly wanted things back to normal despite the violence. He just disliked how everything felt, and he enjoyed for once that Dream was being kind but he didn’t enjoy how different it was.

“Why would it be Manburg?” Dream asked. “Also, explain that Pogtopia stuff.” 

“Well... Schlatt changed it. After he became president he banned Wilbur and me from L’manburg.” Tommy said. He sighed. “Pogtopia was made so we could get around easier. It’s here, I can show you.” He suggested.

Dream was silent for a moment. “No,” he replied suddenly, “later. Keep explaining, I’m curious.” Dream had that bitter but interested tone. Something familiar to Tommy. 

“Quackity and Schlatt made a deal that they’d put their votes together. Basically that’s why Schlatt won... And, Quackity betrayed us.” Tommy shrugged. “He had a good reason, I guess.” He said quietly. “Or, he believed he did. He just wanted more freedom...”  
Dream was quiet. When Tommy didn’t get any questions or a reply, he went on. “I won’t go too deep into it, but Tubbo became like a spy. They teamed up with Schlatt; which Wilbur didn’t like; and helped us out. While that went on, Wilbur went.. Well, he went a little insane.”

“Seems like if he wanted to blow up ‘Manburg’ he was pretty insane.” Dream replied. Tommy nodded. “Yeah..” He said. He looked at a horse that was saddled up as they walked past. He furrowed his brows and shook his head.  
“I told Wilbur that even though I didn’t believe it was right, I’d stand by him.” Tommy said. “I don’t know why, but.. I wasn’t going to just leave like that. I wasn’t like everyone else.

Even though I stood by him, I was not going to stop trying to convince him that it wasn’t the right thing. You, though, came in and gave him what he needed. TNT.” Tommy muttered. Dream glanced back slightly. He was silent for a moment. “I don’t recall that.” He said.  
Tommy rolled his eyes. “I know you don’t. And I’ll figure out why later, but let me finish explaining.” Dream looked back ahead of him. 

“Schlatt welcomed everyone to the Festival. It looked like they were all having such a fun time, and.. Wilbur had second thoughts. That didn’t stop him, though. When Tubbo did their speech, Wilbur couldn’t find the button to set off the bombs.

Turns out, Schlatt figured out that Tubbo was coming to us, and... Techno killed them.” 

Dream looked back. “Techno? That’s a new name.” He said. “Who’s that?” Tommy widened his eyes. Well, shit. He stayed silent. “Uh,” he mustered out, “he’s.. He’s a fuckin’ traiter. A bastard.”  
Dream raised his brows in amusement, and looked away from Tommy. Tommy laughed awkwardly. “. . sorry, just.. He killed Tubbo. He listened to Schlatt, and Wilbur and Tubbo forgive him.” He scoffed. “He doesn’t deserve a second chance.. All Wilbur wants is chaos, he’s gone mad.” 

Dream stopped. “We’re here.” He said. Tommy looked up, and his jaw slightly dropped. “Woah, whats.. This?” 

Dream smiled, and arched an eyebrow. “The sign for the celebration.” He said. “Celebration?” Tommy tilted his head. The sigh was big, and had big words that spelled, ‘Welcome back Tubbo!’. Dream nodded. “Mhm. Tubbo just came back from a long- would you call it a journey? I don’t know..”  
Tommy frowned. At least Tubbo was here. “This is what we would’ve been late to?” Tommy asked. Dream sighed, and then smiled. “No,” he hummed, “what we*are* late to.” 

Oh.

Tommy shrunk. “. . . sorry.” He said. Dream shook his head. “No worries. Obviously you aren’t doing well....” Tommy grumbled. He sighed. “I don’t know if I wanna see anyone else.” He admitted. “If these guys really don’t exist, I’ll look crazy.” 

Dream furrowed his eyebrows sadly. “You don’t have to...” He said. “I’ll help you.. Hey, I have an idea. What if you just don’t say anything about non-existent people or things and they’ll think everything’s normal! Then we can go do our own thing.”

Tommy narrowed his eyes. His mouth formed a thin line and he said, “How am I supposed to not say anything strange if I have no idea what exists or not?” Dream bit his lip. He looked away and then shrugged. Tommy sighed and bridged his finger on his nose. “And- and aren’t we getting more late by talking here?” 

Dream jumped and widened his eyes. “Oh no.” He said. “We gotta go! We can’t miss this, Tubbo’s been gone for weeks!” 

And there he went, pulling Tommy again. Tommy’s arm started to hurt.

. . . . . . . . .

Tommy anxiously sat in the front row on a chair. He looked around. 

SapNap, George, Fundy, Quackity, disappointingly Schlatt... Dream sat beside him tapping his foot on the floor. No one else. No Nikki, no Wilbur, no Techno.. No no one. He sighed.

Dream grit his teeth. “I don’t get it. How can someone be late to their own celebration?” He questioned. Tommy shrugged, and smiled slightly. “This is Tubbo we’re talking about.” He chuckled. 

“So,” Dream said quietly, making sure not to speak loud, “who else here has done something bad or strange in your.. Made up world?” Tommy glared. “It isn’t made up.” He hissed. Dream laughed a bit. “Woah there tiger.” He held up his hands. “Clam it.” 

Tommy sighed. He looked back at the stage. “I’d rather not talk about it.” He mumbled. Dream frowned. “Come on.” He whined. Tommy looked back to him with sharp eyes. “No.” He said. 

Dream sighed. He looked back to the stage. “Fine.” 

Tommy wasn’t going to play games. He would get this celebration over with, and then Dream would help him. 

Something came to his mind. What if he was crazy? What if Wilbur and Techno didn’t exist? What about Niki, or Ponk? What about everything that had happened with Manburg and Pogtopia- was it all a dream? Was it all made up?

Tommy shrunk. Everything they had done, worked for... Was it all just fake? A made up world in his head of this one that he could’ve just possibly wanted to escape. 

If he did, why would he want to escape? Strangely, no violence was here. 

“Will we still ask Quackity about Wilbur?” Tommy asked quietly. Dream glanced at him. “You did say you didn’t want anyone thinking you were coo-coo.” He said. “I now figure that you don’t want to ask.” 

But he did... He needed someone to confirm that Wilbur was here, that everything that had happened was true. 

“Right.” He finally replied. Tommy sighed. “Where is he?” He asked. Dream didn’t look over. Instead, he turned his head to look at the others. Tommy glanced over to see Quackity and Schlatt shrug at Dream. 

Ponk from behind him groaned quietly. “Where-“ 

“Sorry I’m late!”

Everyone looked up. Tommy’s face lit up to see Tubbo running onto the stage. They seemed normal. The blond breathed heavily.  
“Tubbo!” Dream called, cupping his hands over his mouth for effect. “Where have you been?” Tubbo sheepishly smiled, shrugging. They looked over their shoulder and back towards them. “Ran into a herd of mobs.” He said. 

Herd? Tommy sighed of relief. “Glad you’re okay.” He smiled. Something weird happened. Tubbo looked at him with disbelief, and everyone else stared. Tommy glanced at Dream for guidance. 

Dream grit his teeth uncomfortably. “Heh, heh.. uh,” he looked at everyone, “he’s just playing around, I’m sure.” He looked at Tommy.  
Tommy raised his brows and was silent for a moment, and then he realized. “O-oh,” he stammered, “yes, just joking.” 

Tubbo’s gaze was on Tommy for a moment, but they then cleared their throat. “Okay, then.” They said quietly. Their face then lit up. “Wow, this celebration for me?” They asked, looking down.  
Quackity violently nodded, and Schlatt swat a hand. “No biggie.” Schlatt hummed. “What did you expect? Us to just say hi when you came back?”

Tubbo frowned. “Yeah.” They admitted. “But- it’s nice of you guys to do this for me!” Dream smiled. “It’s the least we could do.” He said.  
Tubbo grinned. Their smile then wavered. “Uhh. Am I supposed to do a speech, or?” Tommy tensed up. Last time Tubbo did a speech, well... Not that that would happen. Right?

Dream glanced over. He probably thought the same thing, but he didn’t say anything. He looked back at Tubbo after elbowing Tommy’s side.  
Tommy glanced over. He looked back at Tubbo. He was tired of Quackity and Schlatt looking over at him. Maybe they noticed the weird gestures.

Just act normal. 

Ponk nodded. “Mhm.” He hummed. Fundy puckered his lips. “I mean. You don’t have to.” He said. Tubbo laughed a bit. It was more nervous. “I can!” They said. “Let’s see uh..”

They muttered to themself things that Tommy wasn’t able to hear. They seemed to be rummaging through their pockets. Were they looking for something?

Dream leaned over and whispered, “you’re doing fine. Just don’t say anything.” He said. Tommy looked over. “Wouldn’t that be more suspicious?” He narrowed his eyes. Dream grit his teeth and sighed. His foot tapped on the grass. “Uh, just.. Don’t say anything unless I tell you too.”

Tommy’s mouth formed a thin line. He looked back to the stage. Dream glanced at him. “Say something when I clear my throat.” He said. Tommy face crunched up. He shook his head and sighed. 

Tubbo pulled out some flash cards. They grinned while doing so. “O-okay,” they stammered, “uh... I-I want to thank everyone for uh..”  
Schlatt raised his hand. “Did you actually make a speech for this?” He yelled out so Tubbo could hear him. Tubbo frowned for a moment and laughed awkwardly. “Maybe...” They replied. Fundy grinned. 

Tubbo cleared their throat. “U-Uh, I want to thank everyone for.. For welcoming me back.” They said. “The ‘adventure’ as Dream keeps calling it, was rough but it was fun!” Dream smiled a smug smile. 

“I got the Eye of the Ender!” They cheered. “All of em, so we can do that...” They dug into their pocket and pulled out some pearls. “Here they are.” They said. Everyone leaned out of their seat to look as Tubbo held them up.  
Tommy widened his eyes. “You guys are going to the End?” He asked Dream. Dream looked over and nodded. He sighed with a smile. “Tubbo wants a pet dragon.” He said simply. “They think if we can get the egg, they can raise the dragon.”

That probably wouldn’t go well, but Tommy wouldn’t discourage it. It was actually something he’d be up for.

“You did it!” Quackity raised his hands into the air. “Oh, nice.” Schlatt laughed. Fundy and Ponk smiled. Dream cleared his throat. Tommy looked over, and Dream raised an expected eyebrow at him. 

Tommy opened his mouth and then stammered, “uh- cool!” He smiled. Tubbo frowned at him with a now confused look instead of disbelief. Tommy furred his brows.  
Dream sighed, and muttered, “no, no.. We’ll talk about this.” He grumbled. Tommy glanced at Dream. “Explain?” He whispered. Dream didn’t answer. 

Tubbo went on with their speech. The whole time Tommy was spacing out trying to figure everything out. What was going on? Why was Tubbo acting weird when he said something? Everyone, actually. Everyone but Dream.

After his speech, they all got up to talk and have some food. Tommy glanced at Tubbo, who was getting themselves some potato’s. Dream wasn’t paying attention to him, so Tommy went over.  
Tubbo looked at him and raised their brows in alarm. Tommy furrowed his. “. . hi.” He said quietly. Tubbo frowned him for a moment, and then said, “hi?” 

“It’s.. Good to see you?” Tommy said. Apparently he had been gone for weeks. Tubbo opened their mouth and then closed it. They then opened it and said, “. . . You’re never happy to see me.” They replied. Never?  
Tommy frowned. “Well I am.” He said. Tubbo furrowed their brows, and looked at all of Tommy’s features and his eyes. They were searching for something. Tommy looked back and saw Dream staring. Tommy cleared his throat, and said, “uh, I’ll be going, now.” 

Tubbo’s mouth formed a thin line. Tommy awkwardly waved. “Bye.” He said. Tubbo arched a brow. “. .Bye.” They replied. 

Tommy marched up to Dream. He opened his mouth but Dream put a finger to his lip and shook his head. “We aren’t talking here. Come on. The tunnels.” He took Tommy’s arm and pulled him. 

The tunnels? Pogtopia! 

Tommy looked back. Tubbo and Schlatt were watching him being pulled away. Tommy’s face crumpled up at them in confusion, and he looked back towards him.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Tommy groaned. He tapped his foot on the cobblestone. 

Dream was pacing back and forth humming to himself. He grit his teeth and turned around, crossing his arms. “Okay, so, now your actually starting to convince me you’re some version of Tommy from another world.” He ironically said. 

Tommy blinked. He raised his brows. “You think that’s the case?” He asked. Dream arched a brow and sighed. “Really?” He asked. When Tommy didn’t reply he scoffed and grumbled.  
“I mean.. I guess so many weird things have happened I wouldn’t be surprised.” He said. “Yeah,” Tommy hummed, he looked away with furrowed brows, “Techno’s a flying pig, so.” 

Dream widened his eyes. “A flying pig?” He asked. “No way that’s a real thing.” He shook his head. Tommy laughed a bit and nodded. “I’m sure of it!” He said. 

Tommy then sighed, and tilted his head. “. . . Why did everyone look at me weird when I was talking to Tubbo?” He asked. “Tubbo told me that I was never happy to see them.”  
Dream bit his lip, and looked look. He hummed and then looked back up at Tommy. “You’re normally a jerk to Tubbo.” He sad simply. Tommy widened his eyes. “What? Never! Me and Tubbo are best friends!” 

“Not here.” Dream said, furrowing his brows sadly. “I don’t know what it is, but you guys never liked each other.” Tommy shrunk. Him and Tubbo? Not liking each other? Not being best friends? He’d hate a world like that.  
“That explains my made up world theory.” Tommy shrugged weakly. Dream frowned. “What?” He asked. Tommy laughed a bit, and shook his head. “It’s a silly theory that I just came up with to somehow make me feel better and it didn’t.” 

Dream stared at him. Tommy sighed and shook his head again. “Where my mind made up a whole new world and blocked out this one so I could be happy or something, I guess. But it’s not so happy, if you ask me.”  
“Oh.” Dream said. He frowned, and his face slightly crunched up in confusion. 

“You have a mask. Or had a mask?” Tommy stated. Dream frowned. “A mask?” He asked. Tommy nodded. “Yeah, like, a smiley face mask? You like, never took it off. And your hood is always up, so no one really knows what you look like.” He shrugged. 

An amused him came from Dream as he looked down. “Well, now you know.” He shrugged. Tommy laughed. “Yeah, unless this is a dream and my mind made up your face.” He said.  
Dream narrowed his eyes. “. . Yeahhh..” 

“So,” Tommy clasped his hands together, and looked around. “How are we gonna figure this out? I’m not from here, I’ve come to the conclusion. Somehow, this has to be another world.” He said. Dream nodded. “Mhm.”  
Tommy raised his brows and looked at him. “What?” He asked. “You actually believe me?” Dream nodded and shrugged, a vague look on his face. “Yeah..” He replied. “I mean, you have these made up people and places, you’re being nice to Tubbo, all that jazz.” 

All that jazz?

“We are in Pogtopia right now.” Tommy pointed out. Dream bit his lip, and tapped his face. “Never knew about a Pogtopia but these are called the tunnels.” He turned to Tommy. “So in your world it’s called Pogtopia.” 

Tommy nodded. “Yeah.” He said. He smiled in amusement. “Wap.” Dream widened his eyes. “Language.” He said. Tommy frowned and raised one of his brows. “Wap?” He said again.  
Dream glared. “Shush!” He growled. Tommy’s nose crunched up. “What’s so bad about it?” He asked. Dream facepalmed. He shook his head. “It means bad stuff.”

“Worship And Pray?” Tommy questioned. Dream stopped and looked up. “Huh?” Tommy shrugged. “Wap. Worship and pray.”  
Dream shook his head. “Nu-no. Wet Ass p- I’m not even gonna say it.” He sighed. 

Tommy wouldn’t question it. 

“Right.” Dream sighed. “Okay, Tommy,” he hummed, “let’s figure out how to get you home. Maybe we’ll get our Tommy back, even if he’s dick.”

Tommy felt offended, but he shook it off. “Why do you talk to me- him, then?” He asked. Dream grimaced. “He’s nice to me.” He replied. “We’re kinda buddies.”

Tommy hummed. 

“Let’s get this over with.” Tommy sighed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and Dream end up talking a little bit trying to figure things out. They end up going somewhere where they might find some answers or clues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Change of plans! I’m updating today :) I’d like to thank everyone for the feedback and positive comments on the last chapter! It really made me happy with this work, and motivated me to write more. I hope you guys enjoy this :) yes, I’m planning on making this a series. 
> 
> Some updates may be random, or some may be planned on Wednesday or Saturday’s. Thanks again guys!!

Dream had thought about it for a long while. He wondered if it was all still a prank. Tommy looked so confused but then again he still had his stubborn personality. 

Then again, he was making up random people, but sounded so truthful by and sure of himself. He could understand a person but a flying pig? Come on. At least the guy had an explanation for it. A triton? 

He came to the conclusion that no, he wasn’t lying. 

Tommy would normally come up with meaningless pranks just to mess with your mind but they only lasted a few minutes if you didn’t believe him. This had lasted for a while.  
Dream knew he sounded a bit crazy for believing this was another Tommy from another world. If someone came up to you and said that, then you’d look at them like they had lost their minds. But he had to hear him out. 

He just had to make sure the others wouldn’t figure out. How would he do that, though? He tried to get Tommy to tell them so they could help out, but the boy just wouldn’t budge. 

He couldn’t blame him. 

Dream tapped his foot on the cobble. He leaned back against the wall in the mine and hummed to himself. The whole thing was sus.  
He looked over at Tommy who was aw-ing at a baby slime. Dream grit his teeth, and raised one of his brows at the scene. He sighed. This caused Tommy to look up at him. 

“What?” Tommy asked. Dream shook his head. “Nothing.” He replied. “Just trying to figure this out.”  
Tommy stood up from kneeling on the ground. He smiled at the slime for a moment and then looked back to Dream. “I’m confused, too.” He said. “Don’t worry.” 

Dream looked up. “I’m not worried.” He said. “Just.. Uh, what’s the word?..” He looked down muttering under his breath. Tommy held up a finger. “Baffled?” He suggested.  
Dream arched an eyebrow at Tommy and shrugged. “Sure. Baffled.” He said. Tommy leaned against the wall. “I’m surprised you still think I’m from another world.” He said.

Dream blinked. Tommy held up his hands and laughed awkwardly. “I mean, I am! Really, just, it’s weird that you actually believe me.” He said. Dream sighed. “I know Tommy when I see him. You obviously aren’t him.”  
Tommy puckered his lips, swinging on his feet unpleasantly. “Well.. I am,” he said slowly, “just, not your Tommy.” Dream nodded. “Right,” he said, “not our Tommy.” 

“I must be a dick in this world if everyone’s surprised by me saying ‘good to see you’.” Tommy scoffed. He looked down. Dream turned his head and smiled slightly. “Kinda.” He said. “You can be nice when you want to, though.”  
Tommy hummed. They both were quiet for a minute until Dream pointed at his armor. “May wanna take those off, too. Everyone will think somethings up.” Tommy looked over with unamused eyes. “Don’t they already think somethings up? I’m acting weird to them.”

Dream shrugged carelessly. “I’m sure they think your pulling your harmless pranks.” He said simply. Tommy frowned. “Well, no ones trying to attack me, so..” Dream smirked a little. “You’ll be fine.” He said. 

Tommy bit his lip and looked down at the slime. He shook his head at it, gritting his teeth unsure. “I hope so.” He said quietly. Dream looked over. 

“No one here’s that hateful to try and kill you off, Tommy.” He said. Tommy looked up and shook his head, wide eyes. “Oh, no, no, not at all. Everyone here seems nice.” He said.  
He looked away. “Just... What do you think is going on in my world?” He asked. “Am I just gone? Non-existent too? Does no one know who I am?”

Dream frowned. Poor kid. He sighed, and shrugged. “Honestly, kid, I don’t know. If our Tommy isn’t here, he could be in your world.”  
Tommy tensed up. “Not fun.” He said. “If he’s a jerk, I don’t want him messing with my reputation back home.”

Dream laughed a bit, and shook his head. “Nah, you’ll be fine. If he realizes he’s in another world, which, probably will because he’s smart, then he’ll try not to mess everything up.” He said. Then, he frowned. “If. . he isn’t in a jerky mood, then, it should be.. Fine.”

Tommy grimaced. “. . fine?” He shook his head and then smiled, seeming to push the thought he had away. “Are you saying I’m not smart?”  
Dream grinned. “Not at all.” He winked. They were silent for a moment, and then Dream broke it. “Hey, go ahead and get your stuff all put up. We gotta get back to the celebration.”

Tommy nodded. “Been about a good few minutes, huh?”

Dream smiled but didn’t rely.

He watched Tommy walk off, most likely going to put the armor up into a chest. He sighed and looked down to the slime. It hopped a bit sluggishly and looked up at him.  
Dream smiled slightly. “Don’t grow up and try to kill us, please.” He said. It didn’t reply, but it hopped once again as if talking back to him.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dream walked Tommy out of the tunnels. He sighed. “Better get back soon so they don’t think we’re up to something. I believe the celebration is about to end, though.” 

Tommy nodded, watching his feet. “Uh, so just don’t talk to anyone?” He asked. Dream nodded. “That’s right.” He said. “We don’t want any more suspicions.” Tommy nodded again. “Has everything always been peaceful?” He asked. 

Dream looked back for a moment. “. . For the past year, or so.” He said. Tommy raised one of his brows. “Well,” Dream hummed, “we definitely had some conflicts back then and lots of debates.” He laughed a bit. Tommy hummed. “And you all made up?” He asked. Dream nodded.

“How?” The boy asked. Dream looked at him expectantly as if it was that easy. He wished he knew what Tommy was thinking at the moment. Dream sighed. “We all decided there was no point in fighting because the same thing would happen.” He said simply. “Everyone would come back anyway, and it would just never end.”

Tommy looked down. Dream waited for another question but there was silence. He sighed. “What’s on your mind?” He asked, looking over at him. 

Tommy looked up and raised his brows. He looked over at Dream. “Uh,” he murmured, “just of what you said.” He replied. Dream stayed silent. He was waiting for Tommy to continue.  
“I guess that- not guess.. I wish that everyone else weren’t stubborn enough to do what you guys did.” He said. “. . if that makes sense.” Dream nodded. “It does. Everyone at your world?” Tommy nodded back. 

“They realize that if we kill Schlatt he’ll still come back, but I don’t think they realize that if we keep fighting, nothing will change. Nothing will stop.” Tommy sighed. “It’s really brought a toll down on all of us.”

Dream didn’t speak. His gaze lingered on Tommy for a moment. He arched a brow. “You’re sixteen?” He asked. Tommy looked up, and his face scrunched up. “Yeah? Why does that matter?”

Dream shrugged. “Eh. Teenagers are always the smartest, I guess.” He said. Tommy smiled a smug smile. “You know it.” He said, closing his eyes and crossing his arms. He opened his eyes and raised his brows. “What does that have to do with this, though?” He asked.

“You think all of the fighting is stupid and useless.” Dream said. Tommy jumped up. “I-I don’t think it’s useless!” He said. “It’ll help some, just won’t change anything!” Dream frowned. “That makes no sense. It will do use but won’t change anything?”

Tommy groaned. “You don’t get it!” He said, rubbing his face. Dream sighed. “Sure.” 

When they got back to the celebration, things were being taken down. Dream hummed. “Well, then.” He sighed. “At least we’ll get to visit with Tubbo later.” 

Tommy looked up at him. “Aren’t you guys going to the End? Or looking for it.” 

Dream nodded. “Oh, yes, that. We’ll be going sometime soon, anyway.” His face lit up with an idea. “Say,” he said, looking at Tommy, “what if you come with us?” He suggested.  
Tommy stared at him for a moment, blinked, and then shook his head. “No, no.” He said. “I need to get home.” 

Dream frowned. “We can get you home after?” He asked. Tommy shook his head. “No. No means no.” Dream sighed, and looked away. He tapped his foot on the grass. “Fine.”  
Tommy scratched his head and looked away. “I don’t care if it’ll be fun, or exciting.” He said. “I just want to leave..” 

Dream pouted playfully. “What?” He asked. “I’m too boring for you?” Tommy smiled slightly still looking away. He didn’t reply though.  
“How serious and boring am I in your world?” Dream asked in curiosity. Tommy laughed a bit. “You’re not boring.” He said. “Serious, yes, but you have lots of humour.” 

Dream smiled. “Good!” He said. Dream was about to speak again but Fundy walked up to them. “Hey,” the fox greeted, “you guys missed the rest of the celebration!” 

Dream hummed and nodded. He grimaced and looked down. “Yeahh..” He sighed. “Sorry about that. Where’s Tubbo?” Fundy shrugged. He flicked his left ear looking around. “They went off to talk with Schlatt.” He replied.  
Dream glanced over to see Tommy tense. He narrowed his eyes. If that boy said anything... He looked back to Fundy just in time as the fox too looked back. 

“Ah,” Dream smiled, “so.. What are the plans for the End?” He asked. Fundy smiled at him, and then shrugged once again. “Not sure. Tubbo and Quackity will come up with that. It was their idea after all.” 

Dream nodded. “Right.” He said. Fundy hummed and then perked up. “See you at the White House.” He said. He smiled at Tommy and then walked off. He heard Tommy sigh.  
“The White House is still here?” He asked, looking up. Dream nodded. “Why wouldn’t it?” He asked. Oh. His world. Right. Tommy sighed. “Schlatt.” 

“He’s a dick, probably.” Dream said his opinion. Tommy scoffed and nodded. Dream was silent for a moment, and then said, “but I’m sure he’s nice occasionally, though.”  
Tommy smiled slightly, but didn’t say anything. 

“Am I nice to Fundy, too?” Tommy asked Dream when they started to walk again. They were going back to L’manburg. Dream nodded. “Mhm.” He said. “Don’t take it personally though, if anyone is a jerk to you. They’ll be a jerk if you’re a jerk.” 

Tommy nodded. “I get it.” He said. “I prolly deserve it for being a dick.” Dream laughed. 

They got back to L’manburg finally. Tommy was tired out. He groaned quietly. “Dream.. Can I just leave?” He asked. Dream looked over and frowned. “. . You can’t.” He said. Tommy facepalmed. “Nu-no.. I mean- can I go leave and get some rest?” 

Dream perked up. “Oh.” He said. He looked away, and sighed. “Uh, I dunno.” Tommy tilted his head. “You don’t know?”

Before Dream could fully explain it, Tubbo yelled something into the microphone. Dream almost jumped out of his skin. He looked up.  
Tubbo grinned at them. “Everyone!” They said, “this week. This week we’re going to find the End!” Dreamed grinned, but when he looked over Tommy was frowning.

Fundy ran up beside Dream and called up to the stage. He cupped his paws around his (snout? Mouth?) and said, “what day of this week?”  
Tubbo gave a thoughtful look, and then they nodded. “Wednesday.” They said. “Because, when’s the day!”

Dream blinked. Quackity from beside Tubbo on the stage said, “that joke made no sense.” Tubbo sighed, and shrugged carelessly. 

Tommy looked up at Dream. He furrowed his eyebrows worriedly. “Today’s Monday!” He said. “There’s no way I can get home in two days...” Dream looked at Fundy who obviously wasn’t paying attention. He sighed. He pat Tommy’s shoulder. “Dont pout and moan. We can do this. Unless.. You wanna go to the End with us and then we can get you home?”

Tommy glared at him and shook his head. “I already said no.” Dream frowned. There was no use. 

Tubbo leaned into the microphone again. “Maybe tomorrow.” 

Dream saw Tommy jump and widen his eyes more. He wondered if they could get any wider. He turned to Dream. “Tuesday?” He sharply whispered. “Not tomorrow, we can’t do tomorrow!” Dream sighed. “Calm down...” 

Tommy grit his teeth and looked back at the stage. Dream narrowed his eyes. If they did leave tomorrow, how was he going to figure this out?  
Dream looked down. What could they do.. 

The library! 

Dream looked at Tommy and put a hand on his shoulder. “Follow me.” He said. Tommy gave a lost look, and Dream ignored it turning to Fundy. “Fundy,” the fox looked over, “tell Tubbo I went to the library. No hard feelings.”  
Fundy held an attempt thumbs up and grinned.

Dream took Tommy’s arm and pulled it. Tommy groaned. “Ow ow ow! What is with it and you pulling me and my arm around!?” He asked. Nah, more like he demanded a reply or answer.  
Dream didn’t reply at first, but he looked back and back towards him. “It’s a friendship thing.” 

“A- what?” Tommy narrowed his eyes and scrunched up his nose. Dream hummed. “Y-Y’know, like, do you and Tubbo in your world have your own little thing you do?” He asked. Tommy tilted his head. “You mean like.. Well, we listen to music?” 

Dream nodded, and smiled. “Nice, music is nice.” He said. He shook his head and said, “I just pull Tommy around when we need to do something.” He said. Tommy frowned. “I would’ve popped Dream if he did that to me.”  
“Then why haven’t you popped me?” Dream asked. Tommy’s mouth formed an ‘o’ and then he shrugged. “Well at the time you said you didn’t know who Wilbur was, so...” 

Dream nodded. “Fair point.”

Tommy sighed. He tugged his arm but Dream didn’t let go. “My arm hurts.” He said. Dream smiled, amused. “Too bad.” He said. They were silent for a moment. “Where are we going?” Tommy asked. Dream looked back. “The library.” 

Tommy tilted his head. “The library?.. What for?” 

Dream smiled back at him. “To figure out how to get you home. Why else?” 

. . . . . . . . . . . . 

The library wasn’t too big. Dream watched Tommy ramage through the books. While the teen did so, he went to look for something himself.

He walked up to the counter and stared at the villager, raising one of his eyebrows. “Any books on.. Different worlds, or dimensions?”  
The villager stared for a moment, and looked over at Tommy who was ruining the order of the books. He glared but then shook his head, looking at Dream. “Hah.” He replied, looking to another section of books. 

Dream frowned for a moment looking in the direction and then looked to the villager. “Hah?” The villager suggested. Dream grimaced. “No... I got it..” 

Dream sighed in frustration walking over to the section. He swore that one day he’d consider being the librarian. Everyone expected him to understand the guys language of hah’s. 

He leaned down looking at the titles of each book. He narrowed his eyes. Most of them were fiction, made up for entertainment. Not what he needed. 

He pulled one out and examined it. The title was in a strange font that was hard to read, but he made out ‘The Time Machine’. Dream sighed. Looked interesting, but it wasn’t what he was looking for.

He looked at a few more. Most were about time travel, which was disappointing, but others about different world were just fiction. One caught his eye.

‘The End’.

Nonfiction.

Dreams face lit up and he pulled it out. It was about the End. He was sure Tubbo would love to read this. He then frowned and furrowed his brows. Then why was it in this section? 

Dream walked up to the counter. “Uh, excuse me?” He watched the villagers head look up. He held up the book. “I think this was in the wrong category. It was in the.. That category you told me to look at.” 

He put it on the table. The villager leaned down and narrowed his eyes, scanning it. It was a moment before he stood and shook his head, pushing it back. Huh?

“What?” Dreams face crumpled up. “You sure? It’s in the right place?”

The villager nodded. 

Dream sighed, and took it back. Was worth giving a try. It was the only non-fiction book in the section. 

He gave the villager a glare and didn’t bother to see his reaction. He walked to a table and set it down. His finger went across the book as he read.

Blahblahblah, blahblahblah. 

The enderdragon, portal, different wor-

Dream straightened up. He raised his brows and then leaned down again. This was it. He had finally figured it out! Dream grinned and stood up, walking off and taking the book with him. 

Tommy smiled at his book in hand. He was fascinated in the different languages of the enchantment table. He wondered if he could learn just for fun. 

He jumped when Dream slammed a book onto the table. He looked up in surprise. Dream grinned. “This is it, Tommy!” He said. “This is the book with all of our answers.” 

Tommy furrowed his eyebrows in concern. “. . . Okay.. But did you have to scare the shit out of me by throwing the damn book on the table?. . .”  
Dream still had a grin on his face and nodded. “It’s kind of my thing to scare people.” He said. Tommy was about to say something, but he cut him off. 

“Tommy, this book tells us what we need to do!” He said. He put his finger on the page of the book and tapped it repeatedly. Tommy watched him do this, slowly looking up at him and then down to the book. 

“O. . Kay. .” Tommy murmured. “Explain.” 

“This book says the End portal can take us anywhere we desire.” Dream said. “If you think of the place you want to go to, it’ll take you!”  
Tommy frowned. “But.. It’s the portal for the End. That’s why it’s literally called the End Portal.” Dream nodded. “Well, of course,” he said, “but, that’s the thing, Tommy.” Tommy tilted his head. 

“We all go to the End Portal thinking it’ll take us to the End, wishing it will take us to the End. It’s what we desire. So, it takes us there!” Dream explained. “I’m not sure if it works for the other portals but this should. It has to!”  
Tommy looked at the book and turned it to face him. He read some of the lines, and then looked up. “. . . Are you sure this is true? It’s the only way?”

Dream nodded. “I’m sure of it. One hundred percent sure.” 

Tommy sighed. He tapped his finger slowly on the book and was silent. Dreams mouth formed a thin line. “Tommy, if you come with us, we can get you home!” He promised.  
Tommy looked at Dream unsure. “How are you sure?” He asked. Dream opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it. He said, “I- I don’t know but I just know!” He said. 

Tommy sighed. “. . . I believe you.” He said. “But....” 

Dream frowned. “. . .Are you willing to take the risk?” He asked. “It’s a long journey...”

Tommy rubbed his face. He shook his head but it wasn’t an answer. “. . yeah.” He finally said. “If it gets me home, I’m willing to risk it.” 

Dream grinned and furrowed his brows, a determined look on his face. “Right, then. It’s settled. Let’s go tell Tubbo that we should leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued. . . 
> 
> Chapters should be longer in the future! :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and the group set off on their journey. Not much happens the first few minutes, but Tommy gets a look on them a bit better and realizes maybe his time here won’t be too bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohh Im good good. I write quickly.. Hey everyone! Looks like Tommy is in for a treat. You read the summary, so no need to explain!  
> If you’re still reading, I appreciate it :) I try to get better everyday!

Tommy hated waking up early. 

It was a rush. Everyone was running around getting their things, others mining to craft new things. Tommy didn’t think it should be so complicated to get ready. 

All he did was open the chest, grab materials and weapons, and some armor. Easy peesy. He had forgotten to get some food but Dream made sure to remind him. 

Trudging down the steps of the mine, Tommy found more chaos. Everyone was trying to get to each chest to get things. It didn’t matter how many of them there were, little or a lot, they were running everywhere.

Fundy ran up the steps without warning, making Tommy jump. He had called down to him but Tommy didn’t get what he said. Something like, ‘sorry Tommy’ or, ‘I didn’t mean to run into you’. 

Schlatt ran down the stairs bumping into Tommy. The guy didn’t say sorry, but he held up his hands in a manner of apologizing.  
Tommy watched him run off further into the mine. He sighed. How many people would run into him today? 

Tubbo walked up the steps slowly and smiled nervously at Tommy. “‘Scuse me.” They said politely. Tommy didn’t know how to react, but he smiled. “Uh. Sorry.” He said. 

He saw Tubbo try to hide a look of surprise, and they went on up the stairs. 

Dream came down and stood beside him. He laughed a bit. “What ya’ reckon?” He asked, looking over. Tommy groaned quietly. “Basically everyone’s gone zany. This is chaos.” He said, rubbing his face. “What’s the point in running and yelling around? I just went and picked things out of the chest!”  
Dream shrugged. “It’s just something we do. Always gotta stock up on old and new materials, y’know?” 

Tommy blinked and nodded. “Yeah.” He replied. Dream sighed, tapped his foot on the cobble, (something he did a lot) and walked down the steps leaving Tommy by himself.  
Tommy deciding standing here would do nothing, and no good for him because the others would keep running into him. He went up the steps and walked out of the entrance to the tunnels. 

Fundy zoomed past him, almost knocking him down. Fundy slid to his feet. “Sorry Tommy!” He apologized. “Tubbo just wants us to hurry, leave earlier than late, right?” Then, he ran off. 

Tommy sighed, and weakly shrugged. “Eh, no biggie..” He replied. Not that Fundy heard.  
Dream walked up the steps and threw a backpack onto the ground. He slid his hands together as if he was brushing off dust, and smiled. 

Tommy watched and raised his brow. 

“We’ll bring the book with us.” Dream explained, looking up after putting the book in the bag. Tommy hummed. “Makes sense...” He said quietly. “Can you even take the book?” He asked. Dream froze and looked up. He gave Tommy a sheepish, but mischievous smile. “No. But, it’s what the guy gets for being a jerk to me. And, we need it anyway, so I’m sure he’ll understand!” 

Tommy arched an eyebrow, but didn’t say a word.

Dream opened a chest and took out some goods. He stuffed two apples and a few potatoes into the bag.  
Then, he grinned. “There we go!” He said. “All set. Now we just needa’ wait for the others.” 

Tommy grumbled a bit. Dream glanced at him with a confused look. “Does everyone like. . Bump into each other all the time, or is that just to fuck with me?” Tommy asked. Dream laughed a bit, and looked away. “Oh, no, we all do that. Sorry about it.” Tommy waved his hand and shook his head. “No worries.” He said. But really, he hated it. 

“I’m sure you’ll get used to it.” Dream said. He took some armor out of the chest and some weapons, equipping the chest plate. “We all have our own little ticks and things here.”  
Tommy hummed a bit. He leaned over and looked into the chest. “Yeah, I can see that. Will take time getting used to.” 

Tommy took out an apple and took a bite out of it. “I think Schlatt and Tubbo are suspicious of me.” He said in between bites. Dream paused and put on his helmet, looking over at Tommy. “Did you say anything?”  
Tommy frowned. “Uh- well, I did talk to Tubbo-“ Dream held up a finger. “Well that’s why.” 

Tommy didn’t bother getting onto Dream for interrupting him. He looked away and sighed, crossing his arms. 

“Tubbo prolly said something to Schlatt.” Dream said. “Those two are most likely to talk about things no one else knows about.” 

Tommy looked at Dream with a strange look. He furrowed his brows. “What’s that mean?” He asked. He shook his head. “I mean- I know what it means, but why do they talk about it only to each other?” 

Dream shrugged, and looked back. He smiled at Tommy, and said simply, “No one knows.” 

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Tommy adjusted the backpack on his back, shuffling it around. How many things did Dream put in here? He acted as if they would need the extra books, weirdly a lead, and bones. 

“Just in case we run into some wolves!” He had said. 

Tommy thought if they at least took out the big book about the End it’d be lighter. If he did that though, he’d be bopped on the head. 

Leaving L’manburg wouldn’t be to hard, despite him just seeing and hearing the familiar. He was actually excited about this journey. Imagine him going back home and bragging about how he got to go to the End.  
Actually.. They’d probably think he was crazy. Probably delirious. 

Not that he minded much. If this was a dream, (one of the longest dreams he’s had in a while) then he’d still be able to remember how Dreams face would look. 

When Dream had shown Tubbo the book, he turned to a page with a map to the portal. Normally they would’ve thrown the pearl, but Tubbo decided it was worth following the maps directions. To be honest, he didn’t trust Tubbo to throw it, in case it broke, but he reminded himself this was a different Tubbo, and could have different traits and skills. 

Tommy had cringed internally when Tubbo and Dream had struggled to tear the page out of the book. He cringed before the most when they first decided to tear it out. If they had to return it to the library, what would the villager say? Would he notice? 

Eventually, the two had been able to get the page out. A small rip was at the edge of the page, but Tubbo didn’t pay much mind to it. Tommy sighed when Dream told him to put it in the backpack. It didn’t matter if it was a tiny small paper to him. It just meant more to the bag. Heavier it gets. 

He guessed he was playing this Tommy’s role nicely. Acting upset and grumpy wasn’t too hard (at the moment) because he was tired and didn’t feel like carrying a big bag on his back. He will be complaining about this for a while. 

Tubbo slammed the map on the table. They had a huge grin on their face. “This is it, guys.” They said. “If we follow this map, we may be able to get to the portal!” 

And get me home, Tommy thought. 

Ponk smiled, and leaned down. Then, he frowned. “Oh- wow.. Long way.” He murmured. Fundy sighed, and shrugged. “We can make it,” he said, “we’ve done worse.”  
Everyone seemed to have a knowing look, but Tommy didn’t understand. He hoped no one saw the confused look on his face, if he had one. Tubbo must have seen it, though. Tommy quickly looked away and at the map, as if he knew. 

He felt eyes on him for a moment, but the burning feeling disappeared. He mentally sighed. This guy was too good at reading people.  
Dream had pat his shoulder, causing Tommy to look up. Then, Dream looked down at the map. “So... Who’s the best at reading maps?” He asked. Everyone looked at him. 

“Well, I am the best minecraft player in the world.” Schlatt said, a smug and proud smile on his face. Tommy raised his brows. Ah, so it was Schlatt. 

Murmurs of ‘yeah’ and ‘mhm..’ came from everyone. Tommy decided to go along with it and nod. Dream kicked Tommy’s foot, as if saying something.  
“Ow!” Tommy yelped. Everyone looked at him. Oh great, embarrassment. “What the hell was that for!?” He asked Dream. 

Dream chuckled with a smirk. “Cuz’. Why not?” He asked. Tommy grumbled, and glared, looking away. “Fuck you...” He whined.  
Quackity hid a snicker with his hand, but the others openly chuckled. “Grumpy.” Fundy commented. Tommy shrugged weakly. “Well, yeah,” he sighed, “I’m tired, and it’s not everyday that someone purposely steps on your foot.” 

This time, Dream grinned. He looked back to the map, picked it up, and handed it to Schlatt. Schlatt took it and turned it, narrowing his eyes. He smiled. “Ah, this will be easy.” He said. 

Fundy smiled. “Good.” He said. He crossed his arms and swished his tail, tilting his head. “Well. Are we ready to go?” He asked. 

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Ponk put a finger up. “Hold up. One minute.” He ran off. Dream cleared his throat, which normally meant he had to say something, but Tommy didn’t know. 

He looked helplessly at Dream, and the guy 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴. So helpful for a guy in need. Tommy sighed and turned his head away from him.  
Fine. He saw how it was. Dream wasn’t going to help him when he needed it. Sure, they had just talked for two days, and didn’t know each other too well, but he’d appreciate some sympathy or help. 

Tubbo smiled reassuringly at everyone. “Don’t worry about how long or boring it is, guys.” They said. “Just- enjoy it! We get to spend this time together.” And they sounded like they were going to cherish this.  
It sounded like they were about to loose something they loved, and it confused Tommy, but maybe it was just him. 

Fundy grinned and nodded, his ears moving back and forth with his head. “Yeah!” He said, hands clasped together. “This will be fun.”  
Quackity smiled sheepishly, and it was more of a tired look. “Heh, yep..” He hummed. 

“What’s wrong, Quackity?” Tubbo asked, looking at him. Quackity shrugged. His mouth formed a thin line. “I dunno.” He replied. “I guess I just have a weird feeling about this...”  
Dream arched one of his brows. Tommy glanced at him, and then looked back at the others. 

“Weird?” Dream questioned. “Uh,” Quackity fumbled, “what I mean is, I feel like something will go wrong. I don’t know, just a gut feeling, y’know?”

Tubbo put a hand on Quackitys shoulder. They smiled sweetly. “It’ll be fine!” They said. “Trust me.” 

Quackity smiled back. 

Ponk finally came back and he had his own bag, full of things, it looked like. He grinned. “I got wood, extra food, extra weapons and armor, and most importantly...” He pulled out another small bag and opened it. “Fish.”

Everyone blinked. Dream went ahead and spoke their thoughts for them. “. . . Fish?” 

Ponk nodded. “Um-hum.” He said, still smiling. He stuffed the bag back into the big one, zipping it up. “You never know,” he said, “may go into a jungle, see some cats, or, we may run out of food. It’s always good to have fish.”  
Fundy hummed. “Sounds like something I would say.” He murmured. 

Tommy didn’t question it. He didn’t want to. He just stayed silent like Dream had advised him to.  
The others shrugged it off, but still, they thought it was strange. Tommy was ready to leave already. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Good thing he was ready, and had everything packed, because now they were leaving. Tubbo told them they should leave right away so they wouldn’t waste any time. Tommy didn’t understand why he was so focused on this, but he really must like dragons.  
Tommy walked beside Dream. Schlatt was talking to Ponk like no tomorrow, (the guy sure was talkative) and Quackity was just minding his own business. Tommy sighed and looked down. He was feeling homesick. 

Dream looked over. “What’s up?” He asked. His voice was calm and reassuring. It sounded like he was talking to a pet. It irritated Tommy just a small bit. 

“Just... Thinking.” He replied. Dream tilted his head slightly. “..About?” Tommy shrugged sluggishly. He looked at a tree they passed to avoid eye contact. “. . Manburg. . . Wilbur.” 

He had said it a little too loud. Dream slightly tensed up but forced himself to calm. He smiled, and acted as if he never said the name. “L’manburg? Don’t be homesick.” He said. Dream looked away. 

Tommy looked beside him. Tubbo was staring at him like he grew two heads. When Tubbo saw that Tommy was looking, they quickly turned away.  
Tommy frowned. What? He sighed, and looked to the ground. Everyone else seemed to ignore it. He did play pranks, right? 

“Hah, homesick?” Fundy grinned at Tommy and winked. Tommy frowned for a moment, and then forcefully smiled, but he knew it looked sheepish and sluggish. Quackity chuckled a bit. It was like an inside joke that Tommy didn’t know. One that he was never apart of.  
He looked to Dream for help but the guy only looked forward. Tommy sighed. He’d figure this out soon. He’d just need to ask Dream about more things, and he’d be able to have the act down. 

Hopefully. 

He heard Dream gasp. All five looked to where Dream was staring. A wild wolf stood at least six feet away from them. It watched from behind a tree. 

Dreams eyes technically turned into the shape of stars, (which Tommy didn’t think was possible, but this was another world; and minecraft) and he awed quietly. 

“Dream..” Fundys voice gave a warning, but it had amusement. “No.” 

Dream looked back and sighed. He put his hands together as if he was praying. “Please?” He begged. “I brought bones just for this!”  
Tommy glanced at the others. Tubbo glanced at Schlatt, which was probably normal, because Dream had told him they hung out, and Fundy arched a brow looking at Quackity. Ponk was staring, and he and Tommy locked eyes for a minute.

Tommy looked back at Dream. “Tommy, give me the backpack.” Dream demanded. Tommy raised his brows. “Tommy, no,” Fundy whined. Tommy lowered his brows and they inched sideways. He sighed and slipped off the backpack. He handed it to Dream.  
“Dream- please, we don’t need any animals!” Fundy begged. His ears lay back. Dream gave him a strange look, and held a hand out as if he was reasoning. “You’re an animal!” He pointed out. 

Fundy stopped. He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it, and then closed it. He sighed helplessly. “Guys-“ He rubbed at his furry face. “Guys, help me out here.” 

“Uh.” Quackity looked at Dream. He smiled. “I like pets! I’m on Dreams side.” Tubbo furrowed their brows. “Uhh... I dunno guys...”  
Schlatt grinned playfully. “We already have a pet!” He exclaimed. “Fundy!” 

Fundy widened his eyes and growled at Schlatt, flattening his ears against his head. “Hey! I am 𝘯𝘰𝘵 a pet!” Schlatt shrugged, and smiled. “You know I’m just playing, Funds.” 

Tommy snickered, and looked away. “I mean...” He spoke, “I don’t see the harm in it.”  
Ponk sighed. “You say that because you’re his best friend.” He said. Tommy arched a brow. “..Sure.” He smiled.

“See, if SapNap was here, you wouldn’t get the thing.” Fundy said, rolling his eyes. Tommy had to stop himself from grinning. “Yeah,” Dream narrowed his eyes, “well, fortunately for me, he’s not. He’s out with bbh or something.” 

Tommy had to stop himself from grinning 𝘢𝘯𝘥 from jumping on his feet. 

Tubbo held up a hand smiling nervously. “Okay...” They chuckled. “Uh, Dream, how’s this, if you find another wolf, you can keep it.”  
Dream violently shook his head. “Nope.” He said. “I want it. Right now. Not another one, this is the one, you can’t just find 𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦.” He rolled his eyes like it was obvious. 

Tubbo frowned and kept quiet after that. Schlatt sighed. “Come on, man, we gotta get going.” Ponk nodded in agreement. Dream sighed. “F- wait, where’s Quackity?” 

Oh.

Everyone looked around. Tommy furrowed his brows, turning in all directions. “Oh.” He hummed quietly. Everyone looked where he looked. Tommy pointed. “He’s looking at the wo-“

“AW MAN- you scared it off!” Dream cried. Quackity jumped backwards and hit his head on the tree next to the one. The wolf ran off.  
Quackity glared. “Me? I think you did with your obnoxious yelling.” 

Fundy grinned, and did an attempted clap with his paws. “Nice job, Quackity! You saved the day!” Dream frowned and grumbled a bit. He threw the backpack back to Tommy, where Tommy almost stumbled catching it, but he caught it. 

He slid it back onto his back and adjusted it. He sighed. He wanted to ask, ‘can we get going, now?’ But he didn’t want to ruin anything. Also- he was a bit scared to talk. 

Quackity gave a proud grin, hands on his hips and eyes closed. Dream rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah...” He muttered. “Can we go, now?” He asked. Tommy mentally sighed in relief and thanked Dream. “Sure!” Tubbo immediately said. “Been waiting for someone to say that!”

Ponk frowned. “We wasted ten minutes on that conversation.” He pointed out. Tommy was about to say, ‘You counted?..’ but Dream said, “Ten? Felt like only one or two.” He chuckled. 

. . . .

The rest of the walk was the same old thing. Either Dream or Quackity getting distracted by something, Fundy trying to talk to Tommy; but he was too anxious and worried of saying the wrong thing; and Tubbo talking to Schlatt non-stop. 

Tommy was getting bored, and hot. For the night they set down a camp fire and their beds.  
Fundy sat down on his. “Hey! Let’s tell stories, scary, real, or.. Dang it, no one brought marshmallows...” Tommy arched his brow. He wondered if Dream had thought of that too.

He didn’t, but he brought out chicken. “Mm.. Close enough.” Fundy hummed. They each got their own and ate. 

Ponk smiled. “I have a good story.” He said. Fundy tilted his head and leaned in. He snapped at Tubbo and Schlatt to get them to stop talking. This caused him to get a scowl from Schlatt, but nothing more. 

“One time me and George were building random things in L’manburg for fun, y’know? Like, underground basements, or big oak trees.” He got everyone listening at this point.  
“I had chicken eggs, right? So I threw them at the tree and some chicks came out. I decided burning them would be a good idea—“ Tommy almost jumped — “so, I took out some flint n’ steal.” 

Fundy tilted his head. Tubbo smiled slightly, raising their brows in interest. Tommy leaned in. 

“And?” Dream asked, tired of waiting. Ponk glared for a moment and then shrugged. “Eh, I burnt the big oak tree down.” He said. “And then it set fire to the houses that SapNap and Fundy had built.” 

Fundys eyelids then slid halfway down and he furrowed his brows. He sighed. “Oh. Right. I remember this day.” He grumbled. “We worked hard on those houses, y’know.” He turned to Tommy and them, and pointed at Ponk. “And they never apologized!” 

Ponk snickered and shrugged. “It was fun, until they got back at us and burnt our house down.” Fundy grinned evilly. “Didn’t bother us too much, though.”

Fundy perked up. “What!” He exclaimed. He glared. “Not true. I remember talking to George and he said you balled your eyes out.”  
Ponk rolled his eyes. “And 𝘐 𝘷𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 him saying anything.” He smirked. “Liar.” 

Fundy growled. “You-“ 

“Hey!” Tubbo held their hands up. “Let’s calm down.” Ponk grinned and got up, walking over to his own bed and hopping down on it. “Yes sirthem.” 

Tommy raised one of his brows. “Sirthem?” Quackity snickered, and shook his head. “What?”  
Ponk smiled wider. Tommy wondered how wide it could get. “Sir plus them, equals sirthem. Like thude, and all that other neat stuff.” 

Tommy smiled slightly. Awe. Dream hummed with an amused smile. “Huh, I might use that.”  
When Tommy looked over, Tubbo had an appreciative look and smile on their face. 

Schlatt stood up. “Well,” he sighed, “it’s time you all — we all — get some sleep.” He said. “We need the energy and rest.” Tommy nodded in agreement. He was worn out. The whole night before he had stayed up thinking of home and how things were going. He hoped everything was okay. Maybe this Tommy wasn’t in his world. He hoped so. 

“Yeah, Schlatt’s right.” Dream said. A quiet, ‘wait- really?’ Came from Schlatt, but Dream spoke over him. “We need to save some energy if we wanna get through this quicker.”  
Tubbo yawned. “I’m out.” They said, falling onto their back. Tommy watched them become knocked out the next second. He raised his brows. 

Fundy curled up in his bed, and waved a paw lazily. He still looked irritated by the story and Ponk. “Eh, night.” He said. Tommy got up and laid in his bed and covered up. 

Schlatt had laid down, and last was Dream. Dream and Tommy both looked at each other. Tommy gave him a small wave. 

Dream smiled, didn’t wave back, and laid down, soon also becoming knocked out. 

Tommy sighed and laid down on his back. He watched the stars as he puts his hands behind his head. And for the first time in a while, he smiled to himself. These different versions of his friends weren’t too bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued, ofc. . .
> 
> Extra note=  
> I write fairly quickly in my free time, so sometimes you can expect two chapters a day, or just each day. Not one will be updated everyday if I’m busy, or just wasting time, but sometimes I may just upload daily. Just letting you know!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and the others start to follow the map into the woods, supposedly finding their destination. There’s a change of plans, though, when something unexpected happens..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I know it’s late, but I hope you enjoy this chapter. I tried to make it long enough.. Thanks for all the support, as always.

Tommy laughed, resting his head on his hands. He arched a brow. “You’re really good at this.” He complimented. 

Wilbur smiled, and nodded. “Um-hum.” He grinned, winking. “I’m great at it.” Tommy tilted his head. He got up, and jumped up to the next block.  
“Careful.” Wilbur told him. “I’m the parkour master. Wouldn’t want to get yourself hurt.” Tommy rolled his eyes and smiled, looking back. His turned around and leaned backwards as if to tease Wilbur. 

“I’ll be fine.” Tommy promised. He swung his left foot off the wood block, balancing on his right. Wilbur grit his teeth, but didn’t show any discomfort or fear. He still had that grin on his face.

“I’ll just re-spawn.” He said simply. Wilbur hummed. “..Yeah.” He shrugged, and then looked away. “You’ll re-spawn for the sixth time today, then.”

Tommy smiled carelessly. “Okay.” He replied. Wilbur jumped up a block and then to another. Tommy got back on his two feet and followed, making sure to watch what Wilbur was doing so he could follow.

As they got higher, it got more difficult, but it was nothing Wilbur couldn’t do. He was so confident in himself it had radiated off of him and onto Tommy himself. Tommy didn’t admit that he was too prideful in the skill he had picked up from Wilbur. 

Tommy grunted when he climbed on his fifty eighth block. Yes, he had counted. “What do you think Techno and Nikki are doing?” He asked. “I think I messed up a little..”  
Wilbur snickered. “What? In the pit?” Tommy grumbled a bit looking away, and then smiled carelessly. “Eh.. I’m over it, but, yeah, I guess so.” 

Wilbur glanced back for a second and then looked back to the next block. He jumped. “I’m sure the two are just running around.” He said, landing on his two feet. Tommy hummed, and did the same effortlessly. “Yeah.” He said. 

Wilbur backed up and then ran, jumping. His arms caught onto the block, and he pulled himself up. He grinned breathlessly. “Careful, this ones big.” He said, looking back at Tommy. 

Tommy gave a smug grin and shrugged. “Eh, I can make it.” He said. Wilbur smirked. “Alright. They’ll get wider as we go on.” 

Tommy backed up as Wilbur did, and sprinted with a leap. He had landed on the block with two feet, and laughed. “Hah!” He closed his eyes and straightened up in pride. “I didn’t even have ta’ pull myself up.” 

Wilbur smiled. “That’s nice, Tommy. You get better everyday.” 

Wilbur turned around and then examined the rest of the path. “How’s Tubbo? After.. Everything..” Wilbur took a moment before going back on track and taking a big leap. 

Tommy was silent for a second, then he, too, took a big jump. He pulled himself up with a groan. He sighed, balancing himself. “. . Good.” He replied suddenly. “They aren’t too angry about it. You know them. Their normally chill about it all.” 

Wilbur smiled and nodded. “Um-hum...”

Wilbur took his focus off of his clammy and sweaty hands by saying, “we’ll see what happens next, hm?” He smiled, and jumped. It was a pretty big jump. A large gap inbetween them, but he made it. He smiled, proud. 

He arched one of his brows, still having a smug smile. “What do you say?” He asked, looking up to the next block. 

Nothing. Just a grunt, a stumble, and a-

Wilbur felt dread drop over him. “Tom-“ He turned around just in time to watch Tommy hit his chest on the block, slip, stumble, and fall into the fog below them. 

Wilbur’s held out hand didn’t make it in time. “THOMAS!” 

Tommy shot up out of bed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 

It was probably around five thirty in the morning. That’s what Tommy guessed, at least.  
He couldn’t go back to sleep. He was still feeling homesick. What he needed was the peace and quiet. 

He had some, because everyone was asleep, but the crickets and wolves were irritating him. The obnoxious howls only made his headache worse, and the crickets made him anxious. 

He still felt like he was falling. It felt too real, but not as real as right now. 

Now, what really irritated him, was Schlatt. Schlatt snored, which did not work well for Tommy. Maybe he snored in his sleep, too, he wouldn’t know, but while he was awake he didn’t appreciate it. 

It was cold, and the covers weren’t too thick. They were very thin. Tommy looked over to the backpack. 

Tommy had got up and zipped it open slowly as to not wake anyone up. He took out some cooked chicken, (cold) and some water.  
If Tommy still had time, (which he probably didn’t, because they woke up early) maybe this would help put him to sleep. Maybe a book. He would’ve appreciated warm cooked chicken, but the universe disliked him.

Tommy munched on the chicken while he read the book of the End. He hummed quietly in fascination at the facts. If what Dream said was true about the portal, he could go home. He just hoped they would go quick enough. 

The areas of the map didn’t look too complicated to Tommy. Thinking it’d be easy, Tommy carelessly (and carefully) slid it into the book, closed the book, and stuffed it into the bag. He struggled because of how big it was, but eventually he was able to get it in.  
It wasn’t much longer before a few of them woke up. Tubbo sat up and rubbed their eyes. It looked like they were confused, and it took them a minute to realize where they were.

Hm. That happened to Tommy sometimes.

They yawned quietly and got up, their feet hitting the ground with a soft “ffff’ sound. Tubbo stood up and stumbled a bit, soon balancing.  
They let out two small dry coughs and walked over to a backpack they had brung. They shuffled through it and took out an apple, soon taking a bite out of it. 

They turned and then Tommy and them locked eyes. Tommy waved slightly. Tubbo frowned for a moment, but then they waved back.  
Tommy smiled softly, and then arched an eyebrow at Tubbo’s reaction. Tubbo sighed and turned away. 

Tommy knew that this version of him was a jerk, but he wouldn’t be one just because of it. Tommy would ignore Dreams scolds. He wasn’t going to be rude.

A shuffle came from Fundy’s bed. He let out a small yip in his sleep. Tommy raised his brows, and even Tubbo flinched along with him when a potato was thrown at him. 

Fundy yelped and sat up. His ears were pinned to his head and he turned to look at the direction where the object had been thrown.  
“Ponk!” He growled. Ponk snickered, but it was a tired and exhausted titter. The guy still wanted to sleep, and Tommy understood it. 

Fortunately for Quakity, no one bothered him. He smiled in amusent listening to everyone around him shout in frustration. 

He turned over and sighed, letting his eyes rest. A potato was thrown at him. He immediately sat up and glared. “Ponk..” 

Tubbo slightly smiled, and then went to go get something else out of their bag. Dream shifted in his bed and put his pillow over his head. Tommy glanced at him, and stayed laying in his bed. Despite the cold, he was still tired and didn’t want to get up. 

Tubbo shook Schlatt. “Hey, get up.” They said, but it was more of like asking for permission than a demand. Schlatt sighed, and pushed their hand away. “No..” He murmured.  
Tubbo sighed. “Please?” They asked. Schlatt laid in silence for a minute, and then he sat up slowly. He pushed them away softly. “Go,” he slurred, “I’ll get up n’ ready..” 

Tommy let his face fall back into his pillow. Instead of going on the journey, he suddenly wanted to sleep again. He didn’t care if he had another dream like that or not. He just wanted some good, decent rest.  
Life wasn’t fair, of course. Not to him, at least. Ponk threw some more potato’s, and threw two of them at Tommy. Tommy groaned. “Get up, lazy heads.” Ponk said, throwing another in a different location. 

He heard a grumble and growl. Probably from Dream. Tommy felt his pain. “Stop.” Dreams voice groaned. A few more thuds. A drowsy voice saying, “Stop wasting the potato’s!..” 

Tommy didn’t look, but he heard lots of rummage and stumbles. Dream wasn’t a morning person here, he guessed. He wasn’t either. Hey! Something they could bond over. 

He felt someone shake him gently. Tommy sighed, and looked up. He raised his brows. Tubbo pulled their hands away and fiddled with their fingers. “Uh,” they hummed quietly, “can ya’ get up? And get ready?”

Tommy stared for a minute, and then he sighed again. He sat up, and held a thumbs up. “Sure.” He replied. Tubbo smiled slightly, and then they walked off. 

Tommy’s body stayed right in bed. He stayed sitting up but didn’t move. “You gotta get up.” Someone said. Tommy removed his hands from his face to see Dream.  
He sighed. “I don’t want to...” He quietly whined. Dream shook his head. “Too bad,” he said, taking Tommy’s arm, (oh no) Tommy pushed back but Dream pulled him out of bed. 

Tommy face planted on the floor. He didn’t bother getting up and stayed in place. He heard a frustrated sigh from Dream. “Come on,” he said, his tone sounded like he was talking to an injured animal, “you gotta get up, or Tubbo’s going to end up forcing you.” 

Tommy arched a brow looking up. “Tubbo wouldn’t do that.” He decided. Dream stared at him with an unamused expression. This brought Tommy more questions he wanted to ask Dream, but he couldn’t ask now.  
“When Tubbo needs to do something or go somewhere, they don’t play these games.” Dream promised. “Once they dragged me across L’manburg until I agreed to get up.”

Tommy raised his brows. Dream points to a small scratch on his cheek. “I still have this from my face digging into that stick.” Tommy laughs a little, and sits up. “You act like it’s a battle scar, or something.” 

Dream shrugged, and threw his hands around Tommy, forcing him to stand. Tommy groaned and shoved him away.

“There, I’m up now.” He glared. “I hope you’re happy.” Dream smiled and walked away, saying, “I’m satisfied.” Tommy wished he had a Wilbur to make a Hamilton reference. 

Soon, they had all gotten up. Eventually. Fundy had wanted to lay down a little longer but got fed up with being hit with potatoes. He and Dream got up and tackled Ponk, while Tubbo watched and grimaced the whole time. 

Tommy smiled when Dreams as distracted, and fell back onto the bed, closing his eyes. 

Schlatt crossed his arms staring down at Tommy. “Are you finally awake?” He questioned. Tommy looked up, and sighed. “Sure.” He murmured, and stood up. Tommy didn’t bother getting ready. He slept in his clothes from the day before. 

Schlatt pushed Tommy back when the teen almost fell other. Tommy sighed, and rubbed his head. “Sorry.” He muttered. “Didn’t sleep good...” Schlatt arched a brow. “What? Had a nightmare?” He teased.

At least this Schlatt wasn’t so much of a dick.

Tommy let out a small laugh. He shrugged weakly. “..Mhm.” He hummed. “Well- not a nightmare, but, y’know.” Schlatt gave him a suspicious look. Tommy ignored it and walked over to his backpack. He had already eaten that apple, so he wasn’t hungry.  
He picked up the bag and hopped it onto his back. 

Tubbo had said they should get going soon so they wouldn’t waste time. Tommy agreed, (which of course caused some surprise and confusion; which he ignored) and they got going. 

Schlatt held up the map for all of them to see. “Alright,” he sighed, straightening it out, “the map says to go. . . This way.” He pointed, and he started to walk another direction.  
Tubbo frowned. “Uh,” they stammered, “you sure?” Schlatt stopped and turned back. He tilted his head. “Course. Why?” 

Tubbo looked back at Tommy and the others, and then to Schlatt. He sighed. “I don’t know..” They murmured. “I just- I’m afraid we’ll go the wrong way?” 

Schlatt frowned. “It’ll be fine.” He promised. Them, he smirked. “Trust me, I know.” Tubbo glanced at Quackity, who shrugged. They sighed. “Okay.” 

Tommy had no opinions. He stuck by Dreams side, which was probably normal for the others. He’d rather not say anything and act like he was uninterested than mess up.  
Dream glanced down at him. “How ya’ feelin’?” He asked. Tommy shrugged. “Tired.” He replied. Very tried. He just wanted to sleep all day.

Dream smiled. “Me too, Tom.” He sighed. Tommy cocked a brow but didn’t say anything.  
Tommy pushed the leaves out of his face. He glared up at the long and tall tree. “Did we have to go through the woods?” He groaned. Dream looked over. Schlatt sighed. “Yes, Tommy,” he sternly replied, “we have to go through the woods.”

“In my world, you’re the greatest minecraft player in the world.” Tommy admit, whispering to Dream. Dreams face lit up. “Oh! Lucky me, then.” He hummed. “How bout we just switch places? He can stay here, and I can stay there.” 

Tommy gave an unamused stare. “I hope you’re joking.” He said. Dream smiled, and arched a brow. “Who said Im not?” He said, winking. Tommy sighed and chuckled, looking away. “You better be, because I’m going to say no.” 

Tommy ignored Dreams pout. He turned back to look ahead of them. More trees. It would take a while. That’s what Dream had said, what Ponk had said, and Tubbo as well. In fact, everyone said it except for him and Fundy. 

Quackity hummed a bit, taking large slow steps. He looked up at the sky, and said, “how much longer?” Schlatt quietly groaned. Obviously, he was tired of the questions. Tommy didn’t get it. He talked all the time.  
“Not much longer..” The goat muttered. Quackity skipped up next to him. “But how much longer? Minutes, hours?” Schlatt slowly looked over at him. He sighed. “. . . The map. .” He looked, “most likely an hour, from where we are, at least.”

Fundy groaned. “I’m tired of this, Schlatt!” Schlatt snapped around and glared. “Well that’s too damn bad! You keep walking.” He said. Fundy grunted and huffed, looking away.  
Ponk frowned, but then snickered, as if he got something. Tommy furrowed his brows at him. Ponk looked over, and smiled. “I hope you got the reference.” He whispered, leaning over Dream. Dream narrowed his eyes and softly pushed Ponk away. 

“Where will this take us?” Tommy suddenly asked. He was tired of waiting as well. Schlatt looked at the map again in front of him, and then looked back to face him. “Guess we’ll see.” He said. 

Tommy shivered from the cold air. He mentally sighed. He disliked the feeling of being watched as he looked all around him. He drifted closer to Dream not trying to hide the uncomfy look on his face. 

Dream must’ve not said anything about it if he saw it. Tommy kind of wished he did. Maybe he’d feel like it was less quiet. It wasn’t even dark yet and Tommy felt afraid. 

These woods were so familiar to him. He once traveled far in Pogtopia. He wondered why this kept getting and feeling more different the longer they went on. 

Tommy had only been here for two days, and he’s already feeling paranoid! 

Dream looked down and drifted away ever so slightly. He pat Tommy’s shoulder and then continued to stare forward. Tommy sighed. 

Schlatt stopped. He shifted on the leaves below him. Tommy stopped too, as well as everyone else. Quackity raised a brow. “What’s the big deal? We’re still in the woods.”  
Schlatt furrowed his brows. He was silent for a minute, turning the map around as if he was trying to see something.

“Hello?” Ponk called. Fundy looked at all of them and flicked his ear, perking up. His eyes went around them, and his nose twitching. Tommy wondered if he too felt the eyes burning on his back.

Schlatt grumbled, and looked up. He had a puzzled look on his face. “That’s weird...” He muttered. “The trail stops right he-“ 

Tommy didn’t know if Schlatt either slipped or his knees just collapsed. His legs seemed to turn to jello, and he fell into the leaves. Yes. Into the leaves. 

Tommy raised his brows in alarm and stepped back. Fundy flattened his ears trying to block the loud irritating sound of screaming to protect his sensitive ears. Quackity and Ponk both jumped back huddling together, and Dream furrowed his brows.

Tubbo’s eyes were the size of plates. “Schlatt!” They called. Silence. Tubbo ran near the hole and kneeled down, looking. Tommy came up behind him to observe. It was pitch black. Like noting was there. 

Tubbo cupped their hands around their mouth. “Schlatt!?” He yelled. Dream sighed in a frustrated and panicked manner. “What the hell just happened?” Quackity asked, pushing Ponk away. Tubbo didn’t reply and didn’t look back either. They scooted a little closer to the edge.

“Schlatt! Answer me!” They called. Ponk swallowed. “Tubbo, I think you should stay away.” He recommended. Tubbo didn’t answer. Dream walked up beside Tommy, and narrowed his eyes. “..Jesus.” He murmured. “It’s pitch dark down there.”

Fundy whimpered. His tail lowered as he looked around. Tubbo grunted, turning their body around and hanging off the edge of the hole. “Tubbo, the fuck are you doing?” Dream asked. Tommy could hear him forcing a calm tone.

“I’m going to get Schlatt.” Tubbo explained. “The longer we wait, the more trouble he could be in!”  
Ponk and Fundy shared an anxious glance. Fundy gulped, and hugged himself. “Better than being up here...” Tommy could agree. “Better?” Ponk exclaimed. He shook his head violently. “Would you rather stay on a nice surface where nothing bad could happen, or fall to your death in a probably long fall and dangerous hole!?” 

Fundy sighed, and opened his mouth to reply, but Dream interrupted them. “Guys.” He scolded. Dream looked back to the hole. “And how do you exactly expect to get down there safely?” 

Tubbo grimaced. They looked down as if there was some kind of way. Tommy frowned. He hoped Schlatt was okay. Sure he was a dick, but he was still a guy. And it wasn’t even his Schlatt. 

“. . . I don’t.” Tubbo said. Dream raised his brows. “I’ll just have to give it a go. Take a risk.” And Tubbo let go, soon too falling down the steep hole and onto the darkness. 

Dream jumped, and grit his teeth. Without hesitation he jumped into the hole after him. Tommy let out a gasp. He looked back fo the three still with him. “I-“ Ponk stammered. “Wha- those idiots!” 

Fundy furrowed his brows. He now had a serious look on his face. He glanced at Quackity, who looked back. Tommy looked to the hole. He couldn’t just...

“Wait...” Ponk trailed off. “Way- Wait- you guys aren’t actually considering going after them, are you?” He had a look of panic on his face. No one replied. “Guys?..” 

Fundy took a head start and slid to his feet, which caused him to fall into the hole. Tommy grit his teeth, hoping he did that on purpose.  
Ponk glared at Quackity. “Nu-uh. No way.” He shook his head. “Don’t!” Quackity looked at him and arched a brow. “Even if we do fall to our death, we’ll re-spawn.” He said, and then without another word, he walked to the hole and jumped in. 

Tommy was next, he guessed. Tommy glanced back, and Ponk was glaring at him. “Tommy..” He said, as if he was getting onto a child, “no.” Tommy’s eyelids slid halfway down his eyes into a bored expression. Ponks stern furrowed eyebrows turned into worried ones. “You can’t tell me you’re going along with this. Tommy? Come on!” 

Tommy sighed, and smiled. It caught Ponk off guard. Tommy turned around, and hopped into the hole.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

It was not a pleasant experience. 

The air pressed against his face, which was uncomfortable. It made his eyes watery but he couldn’t bring his hand up to wipe it because his arm was being held down by the pressure of the wind. A long fall, it was. Tommy wondered if it would ever end. 

He fell flat on his face. A rush of pain appeared in his head and cheeks, and he almost thought he could’ve busted his head open.  
Tommy tried to get up, groaning. His face hurt like hell. When he touched it, he hissed in pain. Everything was hazy. 

“Tommy!” A voice called. The person ran up to him and took his hand, helping him up. Tommy grunted. “Ugh- thanks..” He muttered. “You’re welcome.. You okay?” 

Tommy lifted his head. He ignored the pain stabbing through his cheeks. “. . M-hm...” He gave a shaky thumbs up. They flattened their ears and winced. “You look.. Terrible..” 

Realizing it was Fundy, things felt a little bit better. The teen then furrowed his brows. He glowered and sighed, looking away. “Thanks...” He said. “Love the compliments.” 

Fundy frowned. He brought a paw up to Tommy’s face and barely touched his it. His paw gently brushed against his cheek. Tommy flinched and pushed his paw away. “Gah..” He grit his teeth. “That’s not good..”

Fundy shook his head. “Is he okay?” Someone asked. Fundy turned around and shrugged, looking at Tommy with pity. “Uh... Kinda?”  
Dream sighed. He put his hands on his hips and looked around. Tommy finally got a look of his surroundings. 

They were in a cave. It was still dark, but there was still a strong bolt of light coming from a section of the cave. It seemed to be like a hallway to another part of the mine. 

“Great..” Quackity grunted. “I prolly should’ve listened to Ponk...-“ 

Ponk fell from the hole above Tommy. Luckily, Tommy dodged so he didn’t get hit. Ponk groaned and slowly got up, rubbing his head.  
Tommy grit his teeth looking away upset. So he was the only one who fell on his face? Nice. 

Fundy smirked. “Thought you didn’t want to come.” He teased. Ponk glared and brushed the dust off his hoodie. “Look.. I didn’t like being alone, so I came....” 

Quackity and Fundy shared a knowing and humorous look. Tommy tilted his head, and looked at Dream, who was showing himself around the cave. 

Tommy jogged up to Dream, ignoring the pain in his face. “What’s up?” He asked. Dream sighed, and shook his head crossing his arms. He turned around and shrugged. “Definitely not the sky.” He said. 

Tommy hummed and didn’t laugh. “I wonder where Schlatt and Tubbo went...” Dream murmured. Tommy jumped. “Tubbo isn’t down here?” He exclaimed. Dream raised a brow. “Does it look like they are?” 

Tommy furrowed his brows. He looked at the detection where the light was coming from. “Dream.” He pointed. Dream raised his brows and looked in the direction. He let out a small ‘hm’. “Nice, kid,” he said, acting like he didn’t see it before, “you’ve got good eyesight. Don’t stare at the sun or you’ll ruin it.”

Tommy’s face crunched up with confusion. He watched Dream walk towards the others and clap his hands. “Right guys, stop playing around, we got two missing people.”  
Tommy turned around and examined the room. Cave? His mouth formed a thin line. The stone was smooth, but the floor was rocky. Tommy put a finger to his chin, avoiding his bruised cheek. 

He tapped it and buzzed. It looked like the only entrance was the hole that they had fallen into (and possibly the other part of the cave). He backed up looking around him more. 

A hand touched his shoulder. Tommy jumped with a small shriek, and turned around. Fundy gave him an amused state. “We’re going to the light room.” He said. Tommy frowned and tilted his head. “The... The ‘light room’?” He questioned. Fundy nodded, swishing his tail. “Mhm.” He hummed. “It’s the only other way to get around here.”

“Hey!” Dreams voice called. Tommy and Fundy looked over to see him peeking around the corner. “You guys comin’?” 

Tommy nodded, and looked at Fundy. Fundy gave a small one time nod, and then he jogged off towards Dream. Tommy went after him. 

The light was bright. Tommy was afraid it was going to blind him, and that Dream would scold him because he already disregarded his advice. Fortunately, he got used to the light and was able to see things more clearly. 

Tommy grunted.

“It’s the same fucking cave!” Ponk exclaimed. “The same- oh, but it has different passage ways.” He pointed out. He was right. There was different halls leading to different places. He gulped. 

Fundy sighed. The fox walked up to one way, and narrowed his eyes. “It’s.. It can’t be too bad.” He said. Fundy turned back to look at all of them. “Maybe we can all split up. See what we can find.”

Dream tapped his foot on the floor. Tommy turned to look at him, and tilted his head. Tilting his head meant, what do we do? Dream’s gaze on Tommy passed onto the passageways.  
His mouth formed a long thin line. He looked down, and then around, soon to all do them. “Right, then.” He suddenly said. “Here’s the plan.”

“Like Fundy said, we all split up. If any one of us find something, we yell as loud as we can.” Dream explained. “If any of us find Schlatt or Tubbo, lead them back to base. Uh- base meaning here.”

Quackity frowned. “What if it’s like.. I dunno, a maze?” 

Dream looked away, and buzzed. “. . . Just- do your best.” He said. Quackity sighed, not satisfied with the question. He looked to the halls. “So. I guess I’ll go down this one?” He pointed to the last hall, the fith one. Dream nodded. “Sure,” he replied, “I’ll take the middle. Tommy, you take fourth, Fundy second, and Ponk you know where to go.” 

Ponk narrowed his eyes. “Sure.” He said. “I’m gonna go risk my life walking down a mysterious hallway, where I could possibly be lead to my death.”

Everyone stared at him with a bored expression. Tommy sighed, rolling his eyes, and turned to walk into the hallway. Fundy was already gone, and Quackity was standing watching Ponk. “You’ll go right when we all leave.” He said. 

“Guys, stop playing around.” Dream snapped. Tommy stepped into the hall. “And- Tommy,” Tommy stopped, looking beside him, Dream furrowed his brows seriously, “don’t slack off.”

Tony frowned. Wow. He would’ve liked a ‘be safe’ or, ‘don’t get into any trouble’ but instead he got a, ‘don’t slack off’. 

He grunted and turned to walk down the hall. He hadn’t known the guy that long anyway. Yeah, it was Dream, and he was Dream, but a different Dream. 

The hallway wasn’t too dark. Somehow, it was light even though there were no openings. 

Tommy slid his hand across the smooth cobble, trying to see if he found any secret doors. It was silly, but Tommy had watched enough movies to see that anything could happen, and since he was now in another dimension with different versions of his friends, he now believed anything was possible.

The hallway was long. Tommy felt like he had been walking for at least an hour or two. He regretted staying up for the last hour he had of rest. If he hadn’t had that stupid dream..

It was a weird one. He never recalled anything like that ever happening. But then again, the mind is weird. He guessed the mix of confidence, Wilbur, and anxiety caused that dream. He hoped they were okay. He was curious of how things were going.  
Was the other version fo him causing chaos? Was he ruining his reputation? Would anyone think differently of him? 

Ah, so many questions and none to be answered. All he could do was wait and see. 

Tommy sighed. This could take forever. It was only a matter of time before- His face lit up when he saw two hallways. 

Tommy jogged up to them. Which one? It was something new. He would check his options. 

The first hallway looked the same as the one he had been going down. Smooth walls, rocky floors, and darkness at the end. The other one had light shining through it, similar to the light that they had seen when they had landed in the cave. 

The light, or the darkness?

Definitely the light.

Tommy turned and walked quickly down the hall filled with bright light. He was used to the shine by now. It still looked the same, though.. Smooth walls, hard, rocky floors. Tommy frowned. It obviously wasn’t a maze. Mazes are complicated, hard to get around, made to mess with your head. This was.. Easy, but confusing because of how similar all of the passageways were.

Tommy sighed. He turned around a- 

The hall was blocked off. Tommy furrowed his brows and took a step back, trying to process what just happened. There was no way back. It was like he just spawned into the area like a zombie or another mob. 

He put his hand on the smooth cobble. Tommy’s face scrunched up. He pulled his hand away and stood there for a moment.  
He needed to test this.  
Tommy took a step back and turned around, remembering how far it was. He started to walk. He didn’t hear anything.  
But when he turned around, there was the cobble, right in front of him.

It had occurred to Tommy that he never turned around before while walking down that hallway. Maybe he never noticed how the hall had closed up on him.  
But it made no sense. 

Tommy grit his teeth and turned around. He tried hard to hear some sort of shift or movement. Nothing. Tommy perked up.  
He smiled cleverly and turned around, soon started to walk backwards. 

He laughed a bit. “Hah.” He teased. The wall stayed in place. Tommy smirked. “Can’t move when I look at you?” He tilted his head. He blinked, and-

Right in front of him.  
Tommy widened his eyes. This was getting freaky. He had seen a pig fly, and lots of other things, but..  
Well, walls had been built around him before, but those were jokes Tubbo pulled. This was when he blinked. 

Tommy heard a deep low moan. It was more of an eerie growl. He felt himself tense up.  
He wasn’t alone.

Tommy turned around and stared to walk quickly. He looked in all directions, in front of him, behind him (while the wall got closer every time he blinked or turned around) and beside him.  
His anxiety spiked by the second he heard another low groan. He started to walk quicker, almost running. He felt eyes on him again, though, it could just be his paranoia messing with him. Tommy continued to run until-

Something bumped into him. He let out a loud shriek. The thing in front of him screamed back, and they both started to scream pouting at each other. 

Fundy coughed and held his throat, stoping the screaming. “Tommy!” He breathed. “You’re- . . Heh- damn, screaming that loud really strains your throat...” Tommy raised his brows, and his eyes lit up. “Fundy!” 

Fundy nodded, and grinned with relief. “Thank god I found you...” He sighed. “Did you hear-“  
“The growl?” Tommy frowned, and shivered. “Yeah. Who couldn’t?” Fundy flattened his ears and tilted his head. He furrowed his brows in concern. “What?. . No- I meant Dreams yell. . He told us he found Tubbo.” 

Tommy frowned. What? He hadn’t heard a thing except the growl. Then again, he was tired and there was multiple explanations. “Oh.”  
Fundy arched one of his brows. “You okay?” He asked. Tommy nodded and sighed, scratching his head. “Yeah.” He replied. “I’m just tired.” Fundy nodded as though he understood. “Yeah,” he grunted, “feels like I’ve been walking for hours...”  
“Right?” Tommy groaned quietly. He raised his brows. “So- Where’s Dream?” He asked. 

Fundy shrugged looking away. “Not sure...”  
He buzzed. “I say we go look.”  
Tommy was silent for a moment, and then nodded. He looked back, and jumped. The wall was- gone. It looked like a normal hallway.  
This place was fucking with him. 

Fundy tilts his head at him. “. . . Are you sure you’re okay?” He asked. Tommy sighed and nodded. “Positive. Let’s go.”

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tommy and Fundy walked down the passageway. Tommy was tense the whole time, and watching Fundy look alert sniffing around with wide eyes didn’t help. It only made him think the fox smelt danger. 

He just wanted to get this over with. He was tired of what seemed like walking in circles. Plus, he and Fundy didn’t speak at all. Both were silent.  
Tommy didn’t blame him. He was probably tired as well. Maybe he did hear the growl, but just didn’t say anything. Or, it could’ve been him just lurking around. 

They ended up crossing three new hallways. Tommy suggested they go through the middle, that way they would possibly get to Dream, who also went through the middle at the beginning. Fundy seemed content with the suggestion and went ahead.  
Tommy had realized that every passage was the same thing, except it had one different detail. This time, the floor of the mine was smooth, and the walls were rocky. Fundy didn’t seem to notice, and said he wasn’t paying too much attention anymore because he was exhausted, but was interested when Tommy pointed it out. 

Tommy wanted to rest, but each time he did he thought do, ‘Don’t slack off.’ 

Tommy tried to keep his eyes open while walking. He rubbed his face and silently yawned. A hand shook his shoulder violently. Tommy groaned and pushed it away, glaring. “What?” 

Fundy pointed. “Look!” 

There was an open hallway, except, it wasn’t one anymore. It was an open room. It had a bright light. Tommy felt saved. Lord have mercy he was tired of tunnels.

Tommy ran and slid into the room. He hid his eyes from the bright light. This time, the light was sharper than before. It stung at his eyes. Fundy did the same, and flattened his ears against his skull. He sniffed the air, and then they perked right back up. 

“What?” Tommy asked, still shielding his eyes. Fundy grinned. “Dream! And Tubbo, Ponk, Quackity!” Tommy grinned as well, and then it wavered. “What about Schlatt?”

Fundy was silent as he sniffed the air again. He flicked his left ear. “. . Him too! It’s kind of faint, though...”  
Tommy hoped he wasn’t far away. He jumped when he heard voices and footsteps. He turned around to see the other four hallways. He shook Fundy.

The fox lowered his arm and laughed in delight. “Guys!” He held out his arms. “I missed you! I thought I was going to be looking at walls and Tommy for the rest of my life!” Tommy widened his eyes and then glared. “Hey! What does that mean?” 

Dream smiled and Tubbo beamed at them. They ran up and pulled both into a hug. “Ohh! I don’t care if you hate hugs Tommy, Fundy, come here!”  
Fundy raised a brow. “Since when have I hated hugs?” He questioned. Tubbo didn’t reply, and continued to nuzzle their face into Fundys jacket. 

Dream walked up and put a hand on the side of his face. “Jeez, that’s bright...” He complained quietly. Tommy nodded. “Um-hum!”  
Two voices were obnoxiously yelling. Fundy perked up and Tommy and Tubbo grinned. Quackity groaned. “Shut up, please! I’ve been listening to you for hours!” Ponk rolled his eyes. “There’s no way it’s been hours. For me, it’s felt like minutes.” Quackity grit his teeth, and said in an annoyed tone, “good for you..”

Fundy laughed, softly pushing Tubbo off of him, and ran in for a hug. “Guys!” He grinned, “stop fighting and hug me I’m tired!”  
Ponk raised his brow in question. “And that means we should hug you, why?” 

Tubbo’s grin grew wider. Tommy tilted his head. Dream game up beside him. “You know, Tommy isn’t always this happy to see people.” He whispered. Tommy looked up and sighed, shaking his head. “So? I’m not your Tommy, I’m me.”  
Dream rolled his eyes and furrowed his brows. “If you don’t want anyone to figure out you’re from ‘another world’ then you should start acting like our Tommy.” 

Tommy grunted. He looked away and crossed his arms. “I know you’re a little salty about me being here.” He pointed out. Dream nodded looking away. “Yeah, course’, I miss my friend and you’re a bratty kid.” Tommy raised his brows. “How old is the other me?”  
Dream paused for a moment. Tommy sighed an rubbed his face. “You- he’s your best friend.. And you can’t even remember his age?” Dream shot daggers at Tommy. “Hey, look! Sometimes he acts like an adult. I always get confused if he’s seventeen or twenty.” 

“You mean sixteen?” Tommy corrected.  
“Um-hum.. Sixteen...” Dream grunted in annoyance.  
“You should write it down.”  
“Stop being a smartass..”  
“You’ll warm up to me!” Tommy grinned. 

A voice came from the other side of the room. “Thank god I found you guys...” 

Tubbo turned around and grinned wider than even. They ran up to them. “Schlatt!” They wrapped their arms around the goat tightly. He looked like he was uncomfortable but he didn’t move. He just pat Tubbo’s back. Tommy wondered why he didn’t push him away.  
“Uh- hi, Tubbo.” Schlatt smiled slightly. Tubbo grinned up at him. “It’s so good to see you!” They said. Schlatt chuckled. “Same to you.”

Fundy swished his tail tilting his head. “What have you been up to?” He asked. Schlatt looked like he was sweating. He looked down and sighed exhaustedly. “Lots.” He said. “Felt like I was walking for hours.”  
“Haven’t we all said that?” Ponk pointed out. “Shh!” Quackity hissed. Schlatts mouth formed a thin line. “You weren’t in the cave when we went after you.” Dream pointed out. 

Schlatt sighed. “Right.” He grunted. “Well, I fell, saw where I was, and immediately thought, ‘I have to get out of here!’. I wasn’t just going to wait until something came after me.” He shrugged. Ponk pointed, and jumped on his feet. “See?” He exclaimed. “Even Schlatt thinks something could be in here out to get us!” Tommy started to think so too, after his encounter. 

Schlatt visibly winced. He furrowed his brows with a knowing look. Tommy arched one of his brows in a concerned manner. “Did you guys... Did you guys hear something?” He asked. “Like, some kind of growl?” 

Fundy titled his head. “Y’know, Tommy had mentioned something about that.” He pointed out. “Something about a growl.”

Tommy furrowed his brows. “. . yeah.” He said. “Uh, wasn’t comforting.”

A low grow emerged from all around them. Tommy flinched and jumped, backing up. He looked around frantically. Fundy’s ears had flattened up against his skull, Quackity and Ponk had both huddled together again, and Dream had a look of discomfort. Schlatt widened his eyes. 

Tommy frowned, and said slowly and quietly, “did you guys hear...”  
Quackity replied for everyone else. “Who didn’t?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbc


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo hates when others are being rude just for entertainment. They aren’t happy with Tommy’s behavior, either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Left you on a cliff hanger for the last one! Don’t worry. It’ll come soon :) Let’s see what Tommy’s other friends are up to.

Tubbo would say they weren’t having a good day. They normally would try to make the best of it, but when your friend won’t listen to you and run around causing chaos, it’s hard to stay positive about things.

The thing is, Tommy never acted this way. Sure, he was loud and laughed a lot, doing things that made no sense or trying to do something stupid, but running around playing around with TNT, not being fair and not listening to them, wasn’t really one of his personality traits.  
They didn’t even get an explanation. All that happened was Tommy pouring a bucket of water on their head and running off. To Tubbo, Tommy could be a bully, so it didn’t bother them much, but when Tommy did ‘bully’ them it was more of a joke. 

Tubbo panted running after Tommy. They breathed heavily, and looked up, soon groaning. “Tommy, please get down!” They called. He was on a parkour block that went high in the sky, sitting in a crisscross position. Tommy looked down and furrowed his brows, narrowing his eyes. “No.” He replied, then grinned teasingly, “I do what I want.”  
Tubbo sighed. They frowned. “Your jokes are fun sometimes but I’m kinda worried about you. Are you okay? Did I make you mad or something?” Tommy gave an unamused look, and then smiled. “You always make me mad.” He shrugged. 

Tubbo furrowed their brows sadly. “Huh?” Tommy laughed, and looked away. “You act surprised. We’ve had this talk before, you don’t like me and I don’t like you!” Tubbo’s face scrunched up. They shook their head. “Not true!” They protested. “You’re my best friend!”  
Tommy arched a brow with a genuine confused look. “Uh, no? I’m not?” Tubbo felt a pang of hurt. They sighed, pushing it away for now. “. . Tommy we aren’t supposed to be in Manburg. Especially since Schlatt’s on..” 

Tommy scoffed. “I’m not scared of no Schlatt.” He swat his hand and laid on the tall block. “I’m feeling great up here! You should go now.” He yelled down to them. Tubbo frowned. “No, really, stop joking around this one time. I don’t wanna fight today...”  
Tommy was silent for a moment and then sat up, looking down with a bored expression. “Okay, what do you want?” He asked. “You’ve been following me around all day.” Tubbo glared at Tommy, gritting their teeth. “You’ve been trying to blow things up!” They exclaimed. “I don’t know if Wilbur put you up to this or not, but it isn’t funny... We made an agreement, y’know.”

Tommy’s rude expression softened into a weird and confused one. He furrowed his brows, staying silent for a moment. His mouth formed an ‘o’ as he was about to speak, but-  
“You guys aren’t supposed to be here!” Someone said, marching up to them. Tubbo turned and sighed. “Sorry, Techno... Tommy’s being a jerk....” 

“It’s my speciality.” Tommy called down with a grin. It wavered when he looked at Techno. Techno sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “What’s that kid up to now?..” He muttered. He looked at Tubbo. “No, really, you gotta go. I saw Schlatt near the hotel or whatever and he’s making his way over. If he sees you guys..” 

Tubbo whined quietly. They looked up. “Tommy! You heard him, please, come down!” Silence. Then, a, “No!” Was called back.  
Tubbo groaned, and looked at Techno with a weak shrug. “See?” They said. “I can’t get him to listen to me....” Techno arched a brow. “What’s his deal?” Tubbo shook their head with an unknowing look. 

“Tommy! Pleaseee, Schlatt’s-“ Someone cleared their throat from behind them. Tubbo felt dread and started to sweat buckets, turning around. They grinned sheepishly, and waved slowly. “. . Schlatt,” they chuckled nervously, “hey...” 

Schlatt glared. “What are you doing here?” He snapped. His gaze shot to Techno, but the pig gave a blank look back. “Uh..” Tommy laughed from above them. “The idiot’s following me around.” He explained, poring down at Tubbo. He then scowled unexpectedly. “And I’m getting tired of it.” 

Schlatt arched a brow and scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I don’t care. You guys can’t be here.” He glared at Tubbo. “Leave.” 

Tubbo frowned and looked up, then back to Schlatt. They shrunk. “I Uh.. Can’t at the moment....” Schlatt grit his teeth. “Why not?” Tubbo whimpered, and sighed. “Tommy won’t listen to me.”  
Techno looked up and crossed his arms. “I can go up and get him?” He suggested. Schlatt nodded still glaring. “If it gets them outta here, sure.” 

Tubbo was about to protest, but Techno was already going up. They put down their held up finger, and looked at Schlatt who was narrowing his eyes. Tubbo sighed. This wasn’t what they thought would happen when they woke up today.  
A shriek came from above them. Tubbo and Schlatt looked up. 

Tommy jumped back. “Oh my god- it’s a flying pig!” He exclaimed. Techno glared and took his arm, pulling him down. “Get down.” He demanded. Tommy furrowed his brows and scowled. “What? No! Listen, just because you’re a talking flying pig doesn’t mean I’m going to listen to you! God, wait until Dream hears about this...” 

Techno rolled his eyes. He landed on the block and kicked Tommy, releasing his hands from holding onto the wood. 

Tubbo grimaced and winced when Tommy hit the ground. His stuff flew across the floor. Schlatt hummed. “Free stuff. Nice.” He went to get to it but Techno stopped him. “Nah. I got him down, that’s it.” 

Tubbo jumped when he heard Tommy’s voice. “What the- hey!” He growled. “I was minding my own business!” Tommy ran up to them and his stuff drifted to him. He re-equipped his armor, and narrowed his eyes. “Guess I can never use the saying ‘when pigs fly’...”  
Techno sighed in annoyance. “The hell are you talking about?” He buzzed. He looked at Tubbo. “Okay, I did my job. Bye, now.” Tubbo frowned at Tommy. Schlatt nodded. “Go. Now.”

Tommy opened his mouth until Tubbo took his arm. “Okay.” They said. Tommy swatted at Tubbo, trying to pull away. Schlatt rolled his eyes. “And get him under control. That’s why you need loyal followers...” 

Tommy gasped and grit his teeth. “You little- you’re acting like I’m an animal!” Tubbo grimaced. “You’re acting like one..” They muttered. Tommy’s gaze snapped to Tubbo. “Jeez, thanks for the compliments..” 

Schlatt opened his mouth and then gave a look of surprise, dodging an arrow. He galred at Wilbur, who ran up beside them. “Guys, get our of here, Schlatt I am so sorry..” Tubbo frowned, and held onto Tommy. Schlatt scowled. “You’re gonna shoot an arrow at me and then apologize?”

Wilbur huffed. “I thought you were going to slaughter them or something! You uh, weren’t, I guess.” Tommy glared. “Who’s the tough guy?” He grit his teeth. Tubbo sighed guessing he was being rude to Wilbur as well.  
“Tommy, please..” They pleaded. “Stop being mean.” Wilbur turned and glared. “Techno told me you’re being stubborn.” He told Tommy. “Straighten up.” 

Tommy gave a look of surprise. Who was this stranger and why was he getting onto him? He felt the guilt he had when Dream got onto him, but maybe it was because he was an adult. 

Tubbo raised his brows. “Ah. You better now?” They asked. “First non-mean look you’ve given all day.” Tommy sighed and furrowed his brows upset. He grumbled something but Tubbo didn’t hear. 

Wilbur was talking to Schlatt. It almost sounded as if they were arguing. “Why’re you being a grump today?” Tubbo asked. Tommy sighed looking away. “Dream will know,” he said, “n-not that he’d tell you anything!” Tommy glared. Then, he crossed his arms, held up his head, and closed his eyes. “We took an oath to not say anything to anyone about each other.” 

Tubbo frowned and tilted their head. “When did you guys make that deal?” They asked. Tommy shook his head. “Can’t say.” He said. Tubbo furrowed their bowls. Tommy wasn’t being fair. And since when have him and Dream made deals? Gotten along?  
Tubbo shook their head. It was getting complicated. They wished they could just get it out of him somehow. 

Tubbo then furrowed their brows. “It’s settled then,” he said, “we’re going to see Dream.” Tommy frowned. “Oh?” He smirked. “Good luck with getting anything out of him. We’re two peas in a pod, him and I.”  
Tubbo cocked one brow. What? Two peas in a pod? Since when? That was probably one of the strangest things Tommy had said today besides, ‘I thought you went off to look for the pearls?’ Which he ignored. 

Tubbo turned to look at Wilbur. Wilbur groaned and shook his head. “We’ll just go now.” He said, rolling his eyes. Tubbo tapped his shoulder. Wilbur turned and looked at him, arching a brow at an angry Tommy. “We’re going to see Dream.” Tubbo said. “I need to figure something out.” 

Schlatt raised a brow. “Dream? What do you need him for?” Wilbur turned and glared. “Is that any do your business?” Schlatt went quiet and glared back. Tubbo sighed. “No, it’s nothing personal, Wilbur.” Tommy’s expression softened and he turned to glance at Wilbur. He looked like he was trying to figure something out. Something he didn’t understand. 

“Tommy said Dream knows why he’s acting weird, so I’m going to him.” Tubbo shrugged. Schlatt buzzed while Wilbur looked at Tommy intently. “. . Right..” Wilbur said slowly. “I’m coming too. I’m not happy with your behavior, Tommy.” Tommy looked taken aback. He narrowed at Wilbur. “How do you kno-“  
Schlatt clapped his hands. “Okay! Go now!” He said. Wilbur groaned. “Okay! Come on, guys.”

Tubbo was pulling Tommy away. “Curse you, Schlatt!” Tommy called. Schlatt sighed, giving a bored expression. Tommy then showed a fake betrayed look. At least, Tubbo believed it was fake. “I thought we had a truce after I killed that Creeper mob for you! I don’t save everyone from dying, y’know!”  
Schlatt then frowned and his face scrunched up. Tubbo didn’t blame him. That was confusion too. When did he do that? And why did he say that? “When did that happen?” He called back. Wilbur sighed, obviously annoyed. Tommy arched a brow. “Last Thursday?” He called back. Schlatt had said something back, but they were farther now. 

“When did that happen?” Wilbur asked too. “I don’t ever recall that. Was that before the festival?” He asked. Tommy grit his teeth. “. . . Festival?...” He questioned. Wilbur glanced at Tubbo. “Yeah,” Tubbo said, looking at Tommy, “the one we had a few days ago.” Wilbur grumbled and looked away. “..The one I wanted to blow up?”

Tommy frowned. “Wilbur? That’s you, right?” Wilbur, too, frowned. “Yeah?.. You know that.” He said. Tommy was silent for a moment. He narrowed his eyes. “Never mind.. Let’s just go find Dream. He’ll explain.. This.”

Tubbo hoped so. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 

“Where is this guy..” Wilbur sighed. “Dream? It’s Wilbur! The guy you gave the TNT?”  
Tubbo frowned. “I think he knows you.” They said. Wilbur rolled his eyes. “I know, just adding it for special effects.” 

Tommy was silent listening the entire time. Tubbo was glad he went quiet, actually, because they disliked his behavior. This wasn’t their best friend Tommy. It was like someone else was in his body. 

Tommy sighed. “He’ll prolly answer to me.” He shrugged. Wilbur’s face scrunched up. “Why would he answer to yo-“ Tommy cupped his hands around his face. “Dream!” 

Tubbo jumped due to how loud he was. “Dre-“  
“Right here.” An annoyed voice said. Wilbur jumped mad turned around. “Jesus! How do you just show up out of nowhere!?” Dream seemed to smile, but the mask covered up only his upper face. “Im magic.” He replied. 

Tommy grinned, and ran up to Dream. The first actual happy expression Tubbo had seen on their friend. “Dream!” Tommy smiled. Dream frowned, and Tommy slid to his feet. “You won’t believe it! You- .. You have a.. Mask?..”  
Dream’s expression was unknown to Tubbo because of the mask, but he seemed to frown. Or narrow his eyes. They weren’t sure. “Yes?..” He replied. Dream looked up to Wilbur and Tubbo for explanations.

Tommy furrowed his brows in concern. “Why?” He asked. “Is your face okay? Why’re you hiding it? Why’re you acting so weird? What’s up with the hoodie and mask? I mean- you have a hoodie but you never put your hood up.. Wait, does that mean you hurt your head? Aw, Buddy, I won’t judge you!”

All the questions seemed to overwhelm Dream. He took a step back and buzzed. “Uhh.. I heard some explosions, and, stuff..” He said. Tubbo perked up. “Oh!” They hummed. “That was Tommy blowing up part of Pogtopia. Were you around?” 

Wilbur jumped. “What!” He yelled. Tommy grinned, and whatever was on his mind seemed to drift away. 

“Oh, ho-ho! You shoulda seen it, Dream! Oh- you won’t believe this either; There’s a flying pig! He has this triton thing that I guess helps him fly, and then this random guy knows my name! Weird, right? Tubbo’s been following me around all day. I don’t know what they want, though. Think you could tell them to back off? Also- I guess their back from their trip! I don’t see the pearls with them though...” 

Dream stammered a bit, and then kept his mouth shut. Tubbo’s could see he wasn’t sure what to say. Then, Tommy sighed and rolled his eyes. 

“Schlatt was all like, ‘you can’t be on my land!’ And shit. I don’t get it. L’manburg is all our land! And what’s with the Pogtopia stuff? I’ll just tell you. I blew up part of the mine, I hope you don’t mind. It was only the farm part. Why do we even have a farm down there, anyway?”

Dream held up his hands. “Okay, stop already, jeez Tommy!” Tommy frowned. “Oh- sorry..” Dream looked up at Wilbur and Tubbo. “Is he okay?” He pointed at Tommy.

Tubbo shrugged weakly. “Uh- Tommy.. You sure you aren’t sick?” They asked, grabbing Tommy’s arm. Tommy glared and pulled his arm away. “I’m fine.” He said. Wilbur tilted his head. “..L’manburg?” He then questioned. “It’s Manburg.” Dream said. 

Tommy frowned. “Huh?” He furrowed his eyebrows. “What do you mean?” Dream sighed, and shook his head. “You’re acting.. What’s this? A joke?”  
Tommy grinned. “You know me and my jokes!” He said. Wilbur shook his hands. “Okay, okay, can we get back to the topic that Tommy literally blew up part of Pogtopia?” Tubbo grimaced.  
“You mean the mines.” Tommy corrected.  
Wilbur furrowed his brows. “No? Pogtopia.” 

Tommy seemed confused and in a daze. He went silent. Tubbo put their hands on Tommy’s shoulders, and this time Tommy didn’t push away. Tubbo sighed. “Come on Tommy...” They said gently. “You need some rest...”

Tommy opened his mouth hesitantly. “But.. Why’s everyone acting so..” Suddenly, he looked worried. 

Wilbur sighed and shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Dream.” He muttered. Dream shook his head. “It’s uh.. fine? You go get him some rest..” 

“Course.” Wilbur replied.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy isn’t happy about the other day. He thinks about things, and then goes and visits someone.

Tommy stared at the ceiling with narrowed eyes. He didn’t get it.. New names, random people who the others acted like they knew for months or years, new attitudes directed towards him, and disregarded by his own best friend!  
It did kind of hurt. He could almost say he felt left out, which was surprising. Tommy disliked the changes around L’manburg, and the mines. The word Pogtopia did roll of his tongue nicely, though.

When Schlatt was bossing him around, Tommy almost wanted to bust his head. He would’ve, without any regrets or sympathy, but with a stranger right there and a flying pig, he wouldn’t dare.  
Was the pig a god or something like that? Why did he have a triton? Tommy’s face crunched up in thought and confusion. A flying pig. 

He wanted to rant off to Dream about it, but he was being weird. Not to mention the mask on his face. Everything just felt out of place. Wrong. When he stepped into L’manburg, everything was off and wrong to him, giving him an uncomfy feeling, which he never felt.  
Maybe it’s the feeling that it’s so unfamiliar to him that twists his stomach in a weird way. Two, no, three, people he didn’t recognize. The Wilbur, Techno, which was the flying pigs name, and a Niki girl.  
She was nice, pretty, but she seemed hurt when he wasn’t sure how to talk to her. The thing that was difficult was having to act like he had known everything about her. If she said, “remember the cookies I baked last Saturday?” He would say, “yeah! Very good.” Except it was more robotic. Tommy wasn’t the best actor. Tommy may be a jerk, but one thing he don’t is mean to women. He drinks his women juice, which is what George had said. 

Tubbo had been trying to get something out of him. Nothing was wrong! Well, something was... Everything was. Schlatt was being weird, Tubbo was especially acting weirder than usual, new people he’s never met in his life but claim to know him. And the thing about Pogtopia? L’manburg not existing? That’s what he hated most.  
Tommy had never considered L’manburg home. That’s why he couldn’t really say he was feeling homesick. He only tolerated everyone there just for the fun of it, for his own entertainment. He’d just go around blowing things up, getting yelled at, and then laughing it off. 

The only person he tolerated was Dream. Everyone always asked what was so different about him, but Tommy never let it budge out. It was his secret, and his secret only. He didn’t really recall ever telling Dream why he hung around him, but the guy was fun and tolerated him too. When he got into trouble for doing reckless things, Dream would stare with disappointment in his eyes, furrowed brows, shaking his head and scolding him for doing something so bad and terrible, endangering everyone. But every time he did so, there was amusement hidden in his eyes that only Tommy could recognize.  
Dream enjoyed the chaos just as much as Tommy, and that’s what got them close in the first place. Dream was a fun and good guy, and that’s what Tommy enjoyed. Yesterday actual hurt him, but he wouldn’t admit it. There were blanks in his head, things that showed up that he didn’t even want to mention. 

Tubbo. Good ol’ Tubbo. He hated them.  
It wasn’t that they were mean, or cruel. Not like Tommy, not at all. They were too sweet and caring to be friends with Tommy. It was that they were annoying. Following him around like a little dog that needed guidance. Scolding him like a child if he got into trouble. Tubbo acted like they were the one in charge, the one who operates everything. It made him sick. Oh, and everyone loves Tubbo. Their an Angel. Tommy despised it when they all ruffled their hair or complimented them. 

Tubbo wasn’t acting too different, which actually comforted Tommy. Though, they were more confident. Tommy had known Tubbo long enough to know their confidence and do’s and don’ts. Tommy would never, he meant never, admit that they were once friends, and that he didn’t really hate Tubbo because the little guy really was an Angel. They were still sweet to him even if he was a dick, and maybe that’s what warmed him. Maybe it reminded him of Dream, too.  
And by never, he meant never. 

Schlatt was a different story. They were more like frienimies. Sometimes they would hang out and laugh, run around and cause a little bit of chaos, (until Schlatt thought they were going too far) and other times they would fight and yell at each other, sending mean comments and messages, or calling each other mean names.  
The attitude he had given him didn’t surprise Tommy much, actually. It was the fact that he said he wasn’t aloud on the land. Maybe Schlatt was a tiny bit different, though. More stern, and looked a whole lot more confident with his comments and opinions. 

He hadn’t seen many of the others, but the other day he had seen Fundy. The fox was like the same person. Maybe that’s what made him more confused, and caused him to come back to the minds staring at the cobble stone, or, ceiling as he referred to it. All of it. Maybe it was all of it. 

The flying pig. Don’t get him started. The rude nicknames? Ah, he was used to it. The teasing and joking? Used to it, but annoyed easily by it. The flying? 

No.

The guy that knew his name. Wilbur? He almost knew most things about him. He acted like he knew him forever. When Tubbo had said something about a Wilbur, Tommy’s whole thought process had paused. He was almost concerned. So, he wasn’t too taken aback when Wilbur was surprised he had blown up apart of the mine. 

Dream really upset him, and he didn’t enjoy admitting it but it did. He kind of pushed him away like he was some new pet animal that jumped on his legs when he came over to a friends house, uncomfortable because he didn’t want to push him away or be rude, so he listened awkwardly. Like he knew nothing about it, and didn’t want nothing to do with it.  
He didn’t like the new look. Who wore a mask on their face all their life? That’s what Tubbo said dragging him back to the mines. He was zoning out half the time, dumbfounded, but he heard it when Tubbo said, “Dreams had that mask ever since I’ve met him. Never seen him without it.” 

Ugh, he hated it. He hated it, so much. Tommy hates a lot of things. Being yelled at, cats, hotdogs, L’manburg, and lots of other things, but this, he hated the most at the moment. It almost made him wonder if it was all dream. If it was, he’d be glad to blow up the whole place without a regret, without getting yelled at. 

While he was being dragged to the mines, Wilbur had ranged at him. Why was he being yelled at by some random 30 year old? No, sorry, 23 year old. Don’t worry, Tommy knew. He just joked around with it.  
“And you’re getting onto me about wanting to blow up the festival?” Wilbur threw his hands out. “Come on! You switch up fast, Tommy!” Tubbo kept quiet. Tommy rolled his eyes carelessly. “I don’t get why it’s such a big deal...” 

Wilbur raised his brows. “Not a big deal? You don’t get why it’s such a big deal?” He growled. “Tommy, you don’t blow up Pogtopia! It’s home!” Tommy sighed and looked away. Home his ass. “Fine, fine, I’m sorry. Is that what you want to hear?” Tommy scowled. Wilbur groaned, rubbing his face. “What is your deal!?” Tommy was amused and entertained by Wilburs anger and disappointment. He was basically a demon who fed on anger and irritation, messing with people’s heads until they went off of him. He grinned to himself, closing his eyes. What a world they lived in. A cruel but exciting and thrilling world. Tommy wouldn’t complain at all. He exhaled, getting up. He was tired of being in the mines. It was a little dark, not homey. Who cared if he ‘wasn’t welcome’ to L’Manburg? It was his land, too, and Schlatt wasn’t aloud to act like it was only his. He walked out. The mines was exactly the same, unlike L’manburg. Everything was in the exact place he had left it a few nights ago.

Even his items in his chest. His sword, the crossbow Dream had given him, his armor. All in place.  
At least no one touched it. Tommy took out the sword and left the rest of the items, strolling out into the wilderness. He hated it. 

Dream had said he hated everything. It was true! He hated bugs, animals (squirrels) food, Tubbo. Lots of things. And why wouldn’t he? All were annoying in their own way, all stupid and useless.  
That’s what he had said to Schlatt the first time he got back to L’manburg.

“Everything is just useless.” He explained, rolling his eyes. “I don’t understand the point of things. Yelling over things that will die anyway, bugs, hotdogs.” Schlatts face scrunched up. “. . Hotdogs?”  
Tommy nodded calmly. “Mhm.” He replied. Schlatt narrowed his eyes. “This is all strange coming out of you. What’s your game?” Tommy arched a brow and looked around slowly. Then, he looked back to Schlatt and shrugged. “Hm. Nothing.” 

Schlatt scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Oh, yeah. Sure. Tommy complaining about how everything is useless in the world is nothing.” Tommy smirked. “I’d say you were worried about me.” He teased. Schlatt glared and crossed his arms in disagreement. “Not a chance, and never a chance. I’ve never worried about you for even a day.” Tommy snickered. “Ouch.” 

Fundy was suddenly behind Schlatt with George. The two glared, with crossed arms. Tommy smiled in a mockingly way. “Hello!”  
Schlatt sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “You are so confusing...” He murmured. “The other day you’re yelling at Tubbo about hating him, yelling at Dream about your day, and now you’re- oh my god.” 

Tommy arched a brow. “Yelling at Dream about my day?” He questioned. Fundy let out a laugh. “Yep,” he yipped, and then smirked, “everyone could hear it. You’re so loud.”  
Tommy grinned. “Good,” he smiled, “everyone deserves to hear my beautiful voice.” George rolled his eyes with a scowl. “Tommy,” Schlatt sighed, “get out. You’re in no mans land. You were banished, and not welcome here.” He glared. “Take my warning as a blessing. You’re lucky I don’t kill you here right now.” 

Tommy almost laughed. But, he didn’t. He’d give them a win. He shrugged carelessly and smile. “Okay.” He replied. “Goodnight.” And he waved, walking away. Schlatt from behind him stammered and groaned. “Tommy- it’s literally nine in the morning, I swear to God...” Someone said, probably George, “hey man, don’t swear to God...” and then, “shut up, George.” 

So what would Tommy do? He couldn’t go anywhere except the mines, and he definitely didn’t want to be stuck with Tubbo and that Wilbur guy. He would hang out with Dream, but he was nowhere like he was non-existent, and not to mention he pushed him away. Tommy felt a small pang of hurt.  
He sighed and groaned a bit. It was whatever. Tommy walked up to a hill and sat on a bench. He had never seen this before. When did it get here? The view showed L’manburg. The different buildings, and strange paths. 

No annoying Tubbo, no pig, no Wilbur, and no Schlatt. So, Tommy had time to think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry it’s a little short, but it’s what it is! I hope it’s good. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, what does Tommy do when he meets a giant pig? Run for the hills.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!!, curse words..in case anyone dislikes the big f bomb. It’s only in the beginning.
> 
> Edit,  
> Ayo I uploaded this one in the morning so there will be some spelling mistakes. Don’ worry, I’m fixing them :)

Turns out, Tommy’s fight and flight was on point. The minute he heard the growl he knew to run. Except, he stayed in place, because everyone else did too.  
It was huge. Why was it huge? The mob glared down at them as if they had intruded in his home. Which, they possibly did, but did Pig-men live in caves? 

Tommy didn’t think so. 

Dream widened his eyes and backed up. “Holy shit! That’s a giant pig!” He exclaimed. He grabbed Tommy’s arm like it was a natural response, or reflex. Tommy was too shocked to snap at him to let go.  
The Pigman was at least nine feet tall. Or more like ten. It towered over them, and it’s hands — that were so human when Tommy was up close it scared him — were coming closer as if it was trying to grab them. 

This is what was following Tommy in the tunnel.

It was obvious. The low growling, the big footsteps. He didn’t even question how it fit in that small hallway.  
He backed up with Dream holding onto his arm with a tight grip. He or Dream would bolt at any second. Tubbo looked at each one of them. “Uh...” They stammered. “The-“

“THE FUCK!” Quackity exclaimed. “Why the hell is it so fucking big!?” Ponk grit his teeth. He looked like he would run in any minute. Fundy had his ears flattened against his skull. His tail was up in alarm. Dream then pulled out his sword with one hand still on Tommy’s arm. He glared.  
Quackity widened his eyes in surprise and disbelief. “You aren’t actually gonna fight this thing, are you!?” He asked. Dream glanced at Quackity and then back to the gianpig. “If it’s what it takes.”

Ponk backed up a little more. “So, I don’t know about you guys. But he looks angry that we’re in his home.” He said slowly. The Gianpig glared. Quackity yelled, “then lets get the fuck out of heAH!”  
The Gianpig swiped at Quackity. Luckily, he stepped back in time where the thing missed him. It was so slow that they could make a run for it and get away.

Dream pulled Tommy suddenly. “It doesn’t seem to like us? Let’s go, let’s go!” Tommy yelped when pulled, but he didn’t fight it. The thing started to slowly come towards them. It could crush them with one step.  
Tubbo was frozen in fear. Quackity grabbed them, yelling. “Fucking run! What are you doing!?” 

Fundy was rubbing beside Dream. “How the fuck do we defeat this thing!?” He asked, flattening his ears. Dream stammered. He didn’t know, and Tommy could tell. How fucked were they? 

“. . I..” Dream furrowed his brows. Fundy groaned and slapped his forehead. “You don’t know, do you?” Dream slowly shook his head. Schlatt was behind them. “So we’re fucked?” He asked. Tommy nodded. “Pretty much.” Schlatt sighed. “Fun.” 

Ponk was gasping for air. “Great! First falling down a hole, and now a big monsters after us! What’s next? Death?” Tubbo frowned. “Don’t say that...” 

The Gianpig roared behind them. “Why’s the thing so fucking big!?” Quackity asked. Dream looked back with wide eyes. “How the hell would I know!?” Tubbo looked all around them. “What do we do!?” He asked. Tommy grit his teeth. What could they do, what could they do? He looked around. Stone, stone, that was all he saw. They were running back down the hallway. All he saw was stone, they couldn’t do anything.

Fundy whimpered. “Anyone? Any ideas?” 

Dream frowned, and looked at Tommy. What did he want him to do!? “You have experience with pigs!” He said. “What do we do?” From behind him, the others have confused but eager faces. Tommy stammered. “U-Uh..” Techno? Techno was a talking pig! An actual person. He knew nothing about pigs! But he knew a lot about bees from experience and a friend. Powder. Bees hated powder. It didn’t make sense on how this was related to bees in any way, but Tommy only knew the most things about this insect. He looked at Dream. “. . Bees hate powder.” He said. Dream blinked at him. “Bees?” Fundy replied. “You’re for real?” Tommy didn’t reply at first, and then he nodded. Ponk groaned. “This is a jok- damn it, we’re dead!” Dream frowned at Tommy for a moment. He perked up when Schlatt gasped. “Tommy might have a point!” The goat said. Everyone turned. “What?” Tommy raised his brows in surprise. Really? “Crystals have powder right?” Schlatt asked. Everyone was starting to slow in their running. “what do you mean?” Fundy asked. Schlatt’s frown turned to a grin. “I have an idea!” Schlatt started to run quicker. Quackity jumped. “Wait! hey man, what do you mean!?” Dream looked back at Tommy and pulled him again. “Faster, let’s go!” “Just follow me!” Schlatt called back to them. Behind them was another roar. Tubbo groaned but didn’t say anything.

Tommy looked back. There it was. Damn, the thing was huge. How’d it get that big? That was something they’d figure out later when they weren’t about to die.  
Ponk sighed, but continued running. “You guys, what’s the point? We wanna get out, right?” Everyone gave confused and lost looks. Ponk rolled his eyes. “We’ll just re-spawn.”  
“And lose our stuff.” Dream smiled supportively, though, it was sarcastic. “Great idea, Ponk!”

Ponk grinned and closed his eyes proudly, but he opened them and then scowled. “Wait- was that sarcasm?” Dream shrugged. “I dunno. Was it?” Ponk gave the middle finger. Dream then smiled at Tommy.  
Tommy sighed and looked back towards them. It was like it would never end.

Schlatt suddenly skidded to his feet and slid down another hallway. Tommy supposed he knew where he was going, because he didn’t stop. Fundy yelped behind them. “Guys, we got a problem!” He said. Tommy looked around. “Yeah?” Fundy looked troubled. His ears were pinned against his head and his tail was low. “. . Uh, Ponk’s gone.” Quackity widened his eyes. “What!” He exclaimed. “He’s what now!?” Fundy grimaced and looked away, almost tripping. He managed to keep his pace. That’s when Dream slowed down. Tommy skidded to his feet. “Dream? Why’d we stop-..” The Gianpig was gone. Tommy took a step back and stammered. “Uh.. H-hes gone?..” Fundy finally replied, eyes wide. “Well, shit.” Tommy turned to Schlatt. He was rubbing his face. “We’ve got a giant killer pig, and now we’ve lost Ponk.” Dream groaned. “Really, guys!?” Quackity glared. “Well, what are we supposed to do?! Go back and ask the pig to have him back?” He rolled his eyes. “Oh yeah. Great idea.” Tommy frowned, looking between all of them. Fundy hugged himself, and whimpered. “Come on guys, let’s not yell. We just gotta turn back and find him.” Tubbo frowned, and looked at Tommy. What were they looking at him for? Tommy arched a brow, leaning forward. “What do we do?” Tubbo mouthed to Tommy. Of all people, they mouthed to Tommy. Didn’t this Tommy hate Tubbo? Tommy hesitantly opened his mouth. He furrowed his brows. “I don’t know..” He mouthed back. Tubbo fidgeted with their fingers, and looked away at everyone else.

“And get eaten?” Quackity widened his eyes, and then swat his arms. “No way!” He exclaimed. Fundy glared. “Ponk is our friend!” He said. 

Tommy grit his teeth. If they were about to fight, he had to stop them quick. He opened his mouth but jumped when Dream put a hand on his shoulder. “Guys,” he said, “calm it. We have no choice.. We gotta find Ponk, and then find a way to get rid of that giant.”  
Schlatt sighed. “That’s risky, Dream.” He said. Dream carelessly shrugged and shook his head. “I don’t care. Like Fundy said, Ponk is our friend and we gotta go help him. He could be in grave danger.”

“Could he? He IS.” Fundy grunted. Tubbo nodded. They frowned. “We can’t just leave Ponk. He can be annoying, sometimes, but he’s a good person! And a good friend!” Schlatt looked at Tubbo for a minute. Then, he sighed. “You guys are right.” He said. Quackity perked. “We gotta go help Ponk.”

“Wait! What! We could die, guys!” Quackity protested. Fundy winked at him as they passed, walking back down the hall. The others started to run. “We can just re-spawn.” Fundy teased.

Quackity glared. “Ugh... F-fine. If this backfires though, don’t yell at me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey my guys, go check out my new fanfic on my page! It’s Dream smp, ofc. I hope it don’t too corny lmao.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Technos suspicious. Dream just wants peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, it’s short but, it’s something :)

Techno eyed Tommy with a suspicious expression. The boy was glaring at Tubbo, who was grimacing in embarrassment. They hadn’t meant to drop the water bucket all over Tommy. Techno knew that. 

Tommy groaned and walked off, waving a hand. “It’s- fine, whatever.” He yelled. Techno arched a brow, and looked at Tubbo who had seemed to be shrinking.  
Techno cleared his throat loudly, causing Tubbo to jump and look over. They frowned, and raised their brows in question. Techno raised his brows back expectantly, glancing over to the spot beside him on the bench.

Tubbo jogged over. They looked down and sat down, fiddling with their thumbs. They sighed. “What was that about?” Techno asked, looking down. Tubbo shrugged weakly. “Uh, I dunno..” They replied. “Tommy just being mad, that’s all.” 

“He’s been angry lately, huh?” 

“Yeah. He’s upset about a lot of things.”

“What things?”

Tubbo bit the inside of their cheek. They looked look and sighed, again, shrugging. “He was pretty upset about Dream, I guess. That’s one thing.” Techno furrowed his brows in question. Dream? He tapped his cheek in thought. “What about Dream?” 

Tubbo frowned, looking up. “Thats the thing, I don’t really know.” They replied. “He just seemed upset about him. And then, surprised that he wasn’t welcome in Manburg.” Techno hummed. “Well, Tommy does know he isn’t welcome because of Schlat.”  
Tubbo nodded. “Yeah! He does, but he doesn’t in a way? He’s just acting weird. I dunno.” Techno frowned and pat Tubbo’s back in reassurance. “It’s okay, kid, don’t take it personally.” He laughed. “Tommy with hold lots of things against you for no reason. He’s still upset about the Pit.” 

This made Tubbo laugh a little bit. Their mouth twitched into a smile. “Yeah.” They hummed. “I think he’ll be okay.”  
Techno smiled back. “Trust me,” he promised, “he will.” 

Though, part of him didn’t believe that. He looked over to see Tommy and Schlatt arguing for the twentieth time today, part of one of the buildings blown up.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Techno stared down at the grumpy Tommy. The kid crossed his arms grumbling. “I can do what I want.” He murmured, rolling his eyes. Techno raised his brows. “I don’t think blowing up things can be one of them.” He said. 

Tommy glared up at him. “Shush pig.” He said. “Busy thinking.” Techno smirked, and elbowed him. “About blowing things up? Like, yeah, I like chaos, but you’re doing it all over the place!” 

Tommy pushed him after that. He grit his teeth with a mean expression. “Part of it, yeah, but also no. Now hush!”  
Techno still smiled and looked away. He leaned on the tree behind them, feeling the grass with his feet. Techno puckered his lips in boredom. 

“S-o,” he slurred, looking over, “what was the big deal with Toobo?” Tommy’s face scrunched up and he looked over, raising a brow. “Toobo?” He asked. “Uh, Tubbo,” he glared, “had the audacity to spill a bucket of water on me. I don’t enjoy that.”

Techno arched a brow. “So it’s okay for you to blow up things but not okay for someone to spill water on you?” He asked with a bored tone. Tommy sighed, and rolled his eyes. “Just. Mind your business.” 

Techno chuckled, and shook his head. “No can do. Butting my head into someone’s business is my thing.” He shrugged. Tommy fumed with anger. “Okay, look,” he exhaled, “my logic is, I do what I want, and no one questions it. See? Now, shush, and let me think.” 

That was strange logic.

Technos mouth formed a thin straight line. He didn’t enjoy the silence coming out of Tommy. He sighed and looked over. “. . Wanna go see Dream?”

Tommy’s eyes seemed to light up. A small smile grew on his face, but then he furrowed his brows and shook his head. “No. He ignored me yesterday.” He shrugged. “Not that it matters.”

Techno titled his head. “Tubbo said you were upset about it.” He said. Tommy glared at nothing but air. “Tubbo doesn’t know shit.” Silence. “. . What’s your name?”  
Techno raised his brows and looked over. He frowned. “My name?” He asked. Tommy arched a brow and nodded slowly. “Yeah, what else did I ask for? Your virginity?” Techno gave a bored and unamused expression. 

“It’s Techn- you know this! Why are you asking?” 

Tommy shrugged and looked away. “Dunno. Two new people in my life, I have a reputation and need to know their names.” 

Two new people?

“Who’s the other new person?” Techno asked. Tommy gave a thoughtful look. “Uhh, guy with a beanie? I dunno.” Ah, Wilbur. But shouldn’t he know Wilbur? Techno rubbed his head. For the first time in a while, he felt confused. 

“Uh, that’s, Wilbur? Why- why are you even asking me this?” He asked. Tommy had a strange look. He was speaking to himself, obviously, and had a look that said, “something strange is going on, and I’m getting to the bottom of it.”

“No reason, Techn.” He replied. Techno sighed and rolled his eyes. “Techn-o. You have an ‘o’ at the end.”  
Tommy smiled proudly. “Right, Techn-o.”

“Right then,” Tommy clasped his hands together, getting off of the tree, “let’s go see Dream.” Techno frowned, raising his brows. “I thought you didn’t want to see him?”  
Tommy shrugged with a small excited grin. “Eh, I have nothing better to do! Maybe he had a bad day. Would explain the weird outfit, I guess...”

Tommy started to walk off, and then stopped. He spinner around, and arched a brow at Techno, who wasn’t following. “Hello? You coming?” Techno frowned. “Uh...”  
Tommy scoffed and walked over impatiently. He grabbed Technos arm forcefully. “Don’t tell me I gotta do this to two people...” He murmured. Techno raised a brow and then yelled at being pulled. He pulled his arm away and glared. “Hey, wise guy, I can walk..” 

Tommy shrugged carelessly. “Then walk.”

. . . . . . . . . . .

Dream sighed helplessly at the sight of Tommy and Techno. He raised his brows from behind the mask. “. .Hi.” He waved. Tommy smiled a bright grin, and Techno gave a confused look. “Hey, Dream!” Tommy waved back.

Dream was silent for a minute. “What are you guys doing here? You need anything? I’m not giving anymore explosives.” He saw Techno frown with a questioning look. He wondered what he was thinking.  
Tommy shrugged, and walked up. “We got bored.” He said simply. Then, he smiled again. “What are you doing?” He asked. Dream sighed, and looked away in the mask. He shrugged. “Uh.. Mining.” 

He gestured to the cave behind him. “Nothing else, really.” He hummed. Tommy gave an amused buzz, and nodded looking down the cave. “Oh.” He said. “Nice, nice...”

It was silent and awkward. Techno from behind Tommy was giving a thoughtful look. He was looking down with furrowed brows. 

Dream sighed. “S-o,” he slurred quietly, “I’m.. Busy, as you can see...” Tommy soon frowned. He was eyeing Dream a strange look. Dream was glad the mask hid his expressions, because he was grimacing and probably looked very uncomfortable. “Yep..” He popped the ‘p’. “Ver-y busy.” 

Soon, Tommy’s mouth twitched into a smile. “Ah, screw mining, let’s go blow up shit.” Dream raised his brows. Huh?

And soon, again, Tommy was pulling him away, gripping tightly at his arm. Dream perked and looked back at Techno, who seemed to snap out of the thinking state and run after them. 

Dream tried to pull away without demur.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ponk dislikes life at the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just give Ponk a hard time.
> 
> Hey guys :) I changed the name of the book. If you’re confused, this was Non-existent, but I decided that since this book mainly focuses on the End, and how some people have gone, that it would make more sense to have the now title. Good to see everyone again :)
> 
> Also, this chapter is a little intense. TW, blood, descriptive injuries (not described best, though) for anyone who is sensitive to those things :) It is important to the story if you skip, but if you like, dm me or comment and ask, and I’ll be glad to give you a description of the chapter. Enjoy!

Ponk disliked life at the moment. He normally always did, but right now, he disliked life a whole lot more.

Being held by a giant pig who’s about to eat you isn’t a fun thing. He isn’t too worried about death, because he could just re-spawn. He was more worried about how it would feel, smell, happen. Ponk sighed. “Come on, man...” He said, his tone hopeless. “Can’t we talk this out?”

The pig huffed at him, glaring. Ponk grimaced, looking away. He sighed. “O-kay...” He slurred. “That’s a no, then.” He clicked his tongue.

It growled. It narrowed its eyes, examining Ponk. “Right, trust me, I do not taste good.” Ponk held up his hands, pushing the dirty thought out of his mind. Even in a deadly moment he was joking. “Just, let me go, and we’ll never bother you again. Deal?”

It did not reply. Instead, it kept its gaze on him. The pig grit his teeth, a roared snort coming out.

It gripped him tighter. Ponk gasped a bit, gritting his teeth. He tried to pull out of it’s tight grasp, though, it did him no good. Maybe this was it for him. But if he did die, he’d respawn at the campsite. It was possible he could run off, (every man for himself) but then again, he could use it to his advantage to help the others. But the sound of being eaten didn’t sound pleasant.

Ponks clammy hands prevented him from getting out. It was no use. Ponk raised his brows. His inventory! Ponk searched through it frantically, trying to find something that could be useful to him. The fishing rod wasn’t helpful, and so weren’t the bones. His damaged sword that was most likely to break the moment he stabbed it into the giant wouldn’t do any good, and he knew it. The wooden axe wouldn’t do any damage, and neither would wooden blocks.

He was closer to its mouth now. Ponk felt a string and a point. He pulled out the good conditioned bow and an arrow, and a wide grin grew on his face. He looked at the pig with a sneer.

“Hey big guy,” he cupped his hands around his mouth, “eat this instead!”

The pig cocked a brow with a confused look. It was so human that Ponk wanted to puke, but he gripped the bow tightly. The pig grunted in question, the glare returning. Ponk held up the bow and the arrow, pulling back the string. The pig tilted its head, furrowing its brows, leaning in and growling. Ponk laughed mockingly and let go. The arrow flew into the pigs eye. It yelped with a loud roar, dropping Ponk, and backing up holding its face in agony.

Ponk took this as his chance to run. He bolted down the hall, not looking back. Though, he heard the loud agitated roar and stomps behind him, which made him go faster.

Damnit, the hallways were so long. Why, exactly? What was this place, exactly? And why the hell was there a giant Zombie Pigman in there!?

The stomping got quicker, and Ponk could technically feel the floor shaking beneath him. He gulped, liquid sliding down his face. 

Ponk slid down the left hall that had magically shown up. He didn’t care of how it got there. He felt blessed and thanked the mc gods. 

Ponk breathed heavily. His abdomen ached, begging him to take a break, to breathe, but Ponk couldn’t stop! It was behind him, and would get him if he did stop. 

Suddenly, he heard footsteps in front of his as well. Padded feet, sounding rushed, slipshod, sloppy. 

In both directions he would run into something, and Ponk felt his heart rate pick up. Both things could be dangerous, and the one behind him already was, and the one in front couldn’t be worse, but that didn’t worry him much. He just wanted to get away from both. 

Ponk wasn’t paying attention when he bumped into someone.

The person yelped. They held their nose in pain, grunting. Ponk help his head. He looked up and locked eyes with Fundy. 

Fundy grinned, his tail swishing back and forth. He was wagging his tail. “Ponk! Thank god I found you, we-“ Ponk gripped Fundy’s hand, pulling him down the hall. The stomping was behind them, and it got closer due to him stopping. 

Fundy yelled. “Ah! Ponk what the-“ He pinned his ears against his head, looking back. His eyes practically leaped out of his head at the sight of the creature. His head snapped back to Ponk in panic. “Ponk! Uh- it’s- it’s following us!” 

Ponk groaned. “I know, idiot! You think I don’t know that! With the stomping and all!” Fundy glared, almost tripping over his feet. He got back in balance, and looked back up. “Even in a deadly situation you’re a dick.” 

Ponk would’ve laughed at that mockingly in any other situation, but right now it was life or death, and respawning didn’t matter. Fundy kept glancing back, something that agitated Ponk, but he didn’t scold at him to stop. Something deep down comforted him that someone was watching out for any possible danger. 

Fundy slipped, and Ponk's sweaty hand once again doomed him, letting Fundy’s hand slip out of his grasp. Fundy yelped in surprise and panic. His eyes showed fear. “Ponk!” 

Ponk gulped amd skidded to his feet. “Shit!” He hissed. He almost ran forward, but Fundy yelled, “go! I’ll be fine! I got some stuff!” 

The stomping got closer. Damnit, this thing just wouldn’t give up! Fundy held a thumbs up, but his hand was shaky and his expression held pure and raw terror. Ponk backed up. He stared down at Fundy, who was yelling at him to go, but he saw something else in the hybrids expression that said, ‘please don’t leave me here’.

But Fundy wanted him to run. So, he ran. 

Ponk dashed down the hall. He didn’t look back, ignoring Fundy’s yells at the creature. He’d be fine, right? Fundy’s fought many things before, like the one time he and George fought the Wither. It’d be fine. 

It felt like hours when he ran. He almost tripped over himself multiple times. Every time he thought he heard Dream or Quackity, the voices would fade down another hall. 

Ponk followed the voices down the hallway. He gasped for air, quickly exhaling and inhaling again. “Dream!” He called. “Schlatt? Tubs, Quack!? Guys, answer me, please!” 

The voices disappeared. 

Ponk stopped, curling in on himself, gasping for oxygen. His throat felt closed up. He felt hot and sweaty, and adrenaline pumped through his veins. He coughed twice, both dry, and then he gasped again. His lungs hurt, physically, and his side ached worse than before. 

Ponk let out a loud agitated groan. What the hell? He was tired of this. He just wanted to get out. He should have never agreed to come on this stupid adventure. 

Ponk kicked the wall in frustration. “Damnit!” He growled. “What’s a guy gotta do ta get some peace!?” 

It was silent for a minute. Something echoed through the hall, warnings of silence. Ponk felt himself breathing quickly, and it slowed down gradually. 

The wall broke, dust falling down like a feather. Stone fell onto the floor causing a loud, “BAM” and it flooded Ponk’s ears. A loud roar came in from behind Ponk, and he felt a hand wrap around him, digging into his side. 

Ponk screamed. He frantically tried to pull out of the hand, but nothing happened. He searched through his inventory. No arrows. That was the last one he had. His pic axe was broken due to him trying to mine the walls, that ironically wouldn’t break down. He knew the damaged sword wouldn’t work. 

He was doomed. 

Terror flooded through Ponk. He looked up to meet the pigs gaze. It let out a low growl, bringing him up to meet its snout. Ponk let out a low cry, gritting his teeth in alarm. “Heyheyhey! Heh- I Uh- look, man, sorry for shooting you earlier...”

Nothing. It just glared down at him. It’s eye looked ripped out, or clawed out, and it looked horrible. Ponk winced at the sight of it. Blood smeared across its face. Where the hell was Fundy? Was he okay?

Ponk looked around in panic. What could he do!? He looked down at the pigs palm, and furrowed his brows. He opened his mouth wide and bit down as deep as he could on its hand. The pig let out a small yelp. It probably didn’t do much because of their size difference, but it was something. 

This did give Ponk a little room to squirm, though. He wiggled halfway out of its hand, but he felt it tug on him, tightly gripping the lower half of his body. It roared loudly. It had enough of this. 

Ponk widened his eyes, dread pouring over him. He felt himself move closer to its face, feeling the hot breath on his back, his feet getting sweaty, his body starting to ache, the sharp teeth sinking into his leg-

Ponk let out a loud scream. The pig sure took its time digging its teeth into his upper right thigh. It pulled his leg, and Ponk could feel it stretching, pulling. Ponk let out a yell with a small sob. He bit his tongue. The pulling stopped, but he felt it drag its teeth down his leg, skinning it in the process. Ponk yelled in agony. If he glanced back, he would see the red crimson pouring down his right leg. 

He whimpered, letting a small sob escape. Ponk felt his body drift closer to its mouth, and felt its teeth lay on his back. Ponk widened his eyes, gritting his teeth. 

“N-no, no- Nu, nu, no! N-“ A loud crunch could be heard and it echoed down the hallways. Ponk felt every part of it, but the pain quickly cut off and he felt himself slip into the darkness. 

Ponk shot up out of the bed, chirps of birds flooding his ears, his senses adjusting to the light and sounds around him. Barks of wolves, rustling in the bushes. 

Ponk breathed heavily. He shifted his body and then his lower body throbbed. His right leg felt royally fucked up. Ponk struggled for breath. Pain gnawed at him, and it was punishing. He felt in agonizing pain, and he gasped curling in on himself when he tried to move.

Ponk couldn’t concentrate, and his mind was blank for a minute. All he could think and pay attention to was the severe pain from his leg, that ached and screeched, writhing in pain. 

Ponk felt the sheets get wet. It was now that he started to concentrate on the thick red substance staining the sheets, continuing to multiply and pour down the bed. Though, he still focused on that, he couldn’t take his attention off his leg.

He peeled the blanket off his lower half, making him hiss. He grit his teeth, a hand going up to his face, as he stared at his torn up leg. Blood was gushing out of it, and it didn’t look like any skin was left. It felt as if it could fall off in any moment. It felt stretched out and lose. 

Ponk wailed loudly. He gasped, exhaling and inhaling in a slow but fast pace. He shifted a bit more in bed, groaning. He looked at the chest beside him.

He opened it, whimpering, rummaging through the items. He tried to ignore the throbbing pain from his leg, which was impossible to push aside. He had to troop through it. He gasped in pain, and pulled out a potion. 

He took the cork off the bottle, and poured the regen potion into his mouth thirstily and in a rush. He was desperate. The pain seemed to die down, but I was very faint, and he still felt the same agonizing and pressuring pain in his right limb. 

He shifted out of bed, trying to stay balanced. He almost slipped onto the floor, but his left leg broke the fall. He balanced on his bed, limping on his right. He let out a painful moan. 

Animals gave him looks of sympathy. Ponk didn’t pay much mind to it. Instead, his gaze was lingering on his leg. 

It was torn up. Flakes of skin hung off of it, and the smell of flesh filled his senses. He let out a low groan. Fucking hell. 

The injury should be gone. When you die and you respawn, all your injuries should be gone like nothing ever happened. Ponk furrowed his brows.

Ponk felt the ground shake below him. He widened his eyes, and his mind went back to before. 

Shit.

Ponk started running in the direction of the hole. He gasped a bit for breath, almost falling, leg aching, eyes darting around the forest for the path. God, if only he had the map with him! All these thoughts swarmed through his mind. Anxious thoughts, some that got carried away. 

Would the others be okay? Was it possible to still have injuries after respawning? Ponk hissed in pain quietly from the gash at his leg. He didn’t stop running. For a minute, Ponk actually felt he had a heart. He could feel it physically hurt at the thought of someone close getting hurt. 

Or maybe it was the massive loss of blood. Maybe that was why it was hard to think.

Taking the risk to lift his legs, Ponk jumped over logs that were in his way, and some small animals such as rabbits, chickens. He zoomed through some trees, getting hit in the face by the branches. 

His right leg fell out and he stumbled to the ground, dirt getting into his open cuts and leg. That isn’t good.. Ponk forced himself up, yelling in pain, and ignoring it starting to run some more.

His breathing was layered. His legs were tired and the cut burned, the pressure of the wind only making it worse. Ponk swallowed, sloppily skidding to his feet staring down at the hole. 

He wanted to lie down. Close his eyes, because maybe the pain in his leg would stop. But those wants stopped when he heard the roar from below him. 

He gulped. He was already worse enough. Jumping down a huge hole; which he didn’t know how big of a drop it even was, would most likely damage his leg more. He feared it would only get fucked up more in the process. 

Ponk wiped his eyes. Not because he was crying. It didn’t hurt too bad; don’t twist the truth. 

Ponk sat down, whimpering in pain. He slid his legs to the edge, hissing quietly. Small sniffs came from him as he looked at his fucked up leg, looking as if it was clawed up, or someone attempted to rip it off. Ponk bit his tongue. It would be fine, it would go away.

Ponk gulped, sliding his body down in the hole. His feet held onto the dirt in the hole, his right leg attempting to stay balanced, except the pressure sent a wave of pain through it. He could only let his injured leg hang off the dirt for an attempt to stop the pain and to damage it any further, but without much support he felt a shift, let out a raw yelp, slipping down the hole. 

Luckily his hands and chest broke his fall. Even if the cobble scraped against his fists, skinning off some skin leaving blood, Ponk didn’t care, because he’d rather that than break off his entire leg. It was possible he was over exaggerating, though.

Ponk tried to sit up. He slipped, his leg hitting the ground. Ponk gasped in pain, getting his teeth enveloping himself. He didn’t want to look down at his leg, fearing of any new additions added to it. 

Ponk didn’t look forward to walking down those long halls with his injuries. He didn’t look forward to bumping into the creature again. 

He whimpered. He just wanted to lay down. He wanted to stay there until his leg felt better. Maybe if he got another regen potion it’d go away. 

Ponk lifted himself off the floor, forcing his injured leg to work with his good one. Though his leg screamed and shouted at him, pleading for him to sit back down and rest, he didn’t listen. 

Ponk made an attempt run. It was sloppy, and a slow, limped run, but it was something.

He slipped through the halls, banging into the walls and found himself in a big room. He widened his eyes, backing up with a limp. Large crystals shined brightly, they were tall and bright, quite sharp. Ponk furrowed his brows. The hell was this?

His leg snapped. Ponk yelped, almost believe he broke a bone, or his leg fell off. Only the bone popped, but it hurt like hell.

Running was behind him. Ponk almost jumped out of his skin and spun around, locking eyes with a terrified and panicked Tubbo, along with Schlatt who had his arm around them. Ponk looked to the other hallway that aligned up with the room of the other three, where Dream and Tommy stood. Dream had a tight grip around Tommys arm, something they both did to each other often. Then, Ponk turned to look at the third hallway, where Fundy and Quackity stood, both breathing quickly and heavily. Fundy looked like shit, and his ear was chipped, along with a cut across his arm, but he looked to be in a well enough condition to stand and fight. Quackity on the other hand had no injuries like the others, and instead had dirt all in his hair and clothes. 

Schlatt widened his eyes. “Holy shit, Ponk! You look like hell!” He exclaimed. Everyone’s gaze was on Ponk’s leg. Ponk didn’t take it as an insult. “Thanks..” He breathed, biting back a whimper. 

Tommy gaped at him. “Oh my god, are you okay!?” 

Ponk let a low groan escape, and he shook his head sighing. “I’m fine...” He replied. Dream furrowed his brows. “You don’t look fine.” 

“Yeah, your legs fucked up.” Quackity said. His tone held concern and worry. Ponk rolled his eyes, putting up a front. “Yeah, isn’t it obvious?” 

Fundy had his ears pinned against his head. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but didn’t. Instead, his eyes were the size of dinner plates as he turned to stare at the crystals. “Wow..” Fundy breathed. “What- what’s this?”

Ponk shrugged weakly. “As if I’d know..” He replied. 

Tommy raised his brows in amazement. His attention seemed to be stolen from Dreams hand gripped on his arm. He took a step forward. “They’re- damn, they’re huge.” He complimented. 

Schlatt had a huge grin on his face. He pat Tubbo’s shoulders, walking forward. Tubbo tilted their head at Schaltt. The goat man let out a small laugh. “Here it is.” He said. “We found it!”

“Found what?” Tommy looked at Schlatt. He gave the man a suspicious look. Ponk mentally sighed. 

Schlatt looked at Tommy, still holding the grin on his face. “The crystals!” He said, as if it was obvious. “The damn crystals! When this thing attacked me; the thing I was gonna warn you guys about before it interrupted our beautiful reunion; I saw it here.” 

Schlatt’s voice got more excited, more fascinated and interested. He looked back at the crystals, wide, curious eyes. “When it got near the crystals or touched them, it looked like it hurt it! It didn’t physically do any damage, of course, but it must be some kind of weakness..”

Tommy looked down, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “So crystals are the Gianpigs weakness?” He muttered, loud enough for them all to hear.

Quackity titled his head. “Gianpig?” He questioned.

Tommy shrugged with a small grimace. “Eh, it’s uh, a name I came up with for it.” 

Tubbo walked towards the crystals. They had a small grin on their face as well. “They are really pretty.” They said. They looked to Schlatt. “You think if we can lure the pig- Uh, Gianpig, here, we can weaken it and kill it?” 

Schlatt smiled down at Tubbo, a glint of pride in his eyes. He smirked, cocking one brow. “Precisely, Tubbox.” He replied. 

Ponk sighed, still slightly out of breath. His leg felt numb and cold, and he couldn’t fully feel the pain anymore. Though, there was still that throbbing pressure in his upper thigh. “And how will be do that? Bait? Noise? The thing seems to hate rampages..” He thought back to before. Ponk visibly shivered.

Fundy tilted his head with concern, and Schlatt nodded. “Bait, possibly, but we don’t want anyone getting hurt, dying, and losing items. It doesn’t matter if we can respawn. We need items for this journey.” Schaltt tapped a finger on his cheek with thought. “Though, noise, could work. If we can lure it here to the crystals without it knowing, then we can weaken it and kill it.”

Dream grinned. “Perfect, Schlatt!” He said. He clasped his hands together, his hand letting go of Tommy’s arm. Tommy rubbed his left arm, frowning. 

Schlatt hummed with a nod. “I know, I know, I’m amazing.” 

Tubbo looked around at all of them, frowning. “So, when will we do this?” They asked. Schlatt looked down with a determined smile. “Now.” 

Ponk mentally sighed. His leg still ached and throbbed, even though it was beginning to become more numb and more cold. He could still feel the teeth running down his leg, the skin peeling off and his leg being pulled. He could still feel his spine being broke in two, and the blood pouring down his back and leg. Thinking about it made him shiver, but he felt slight disappointment.

The disappointment that he couldn’t defeat it. But then again, it was a huge pig, bigger than any of them. Ponk felt his mouth twitch into a small smile. If he could kill this thing like it killed him, then he was up for it. It didn’t matter how much his leg throbbed, or how much he wanted to cry. He’d kill this thing, one way, or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m actually- proud of this one. Ayo. :) of there are any typos I’ve missed, please feel free to let me know in the comments.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo places the book down on the desk beside them. They tap a finger on their cheek, humming quietly. “Looks like we finally found a lead of where the monster has gone.” They said, a small groan. “I hope Ponk will be okay. But, I wonder what’s going on at home.” They turn to the screen, smiling. “Well, I guess you’ll find out. I’ll be waiting for you in the comments!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had no idea of what to do for the summary, so I made it into a little paragraph. Boom 0_0

Tommy couldn’t help but stare at Ponks leg while they ran.

It looked pale and raw, stretched out, and like it would fall off any second. He didn’t understand hoe Ponk could still move. If it was him, he’d lie there and wail like a baby.

Ponk skidded to a stop, almost falling. He kept his balance on his left leg, slightly lifting his right. He let out a low groan.  
Everyone stopped, each with layered breaths. Schlatt spun around with a glare. “Why the hell we’d stop?” He asked.

Ponk tried to hide a guilty look by looking down at his leg. “Sorry,” he murmured, “ugh..” Schlatt’s angry eyes softened. He frowned. “You okay?”

“M’ fine...” Ponk replied. He grit his teeth, gasping a bit from touching at his leg. Fundy pinned his ears against his skull, tilting his head in concern. “You don’t look fine..” He said. “Maybe we should take a break...”

Tubbo nodded violently in agreement, eyes locked on Ponks leg. Ponk shook his head. “No, no, it’s fine. I’m fine. I can’t feel my leg, anyway.”

Fundy widened his eyes. “Ponk!”

Ponk held up his hands innocently. “What? I’m fine, guys, really! I’ll just slow you guys down, anyway, and we can’t rest now!”

Everyone glared, (except Tubbo; they watched with worry) and Fundy crossed his arms.

“What!” Ponk glared back. “Guys- we have no potions, no armor. It’s all back at camp! We’re fucked if we stop.”

“I hate to say,” Schlatt sighed, “but Ponk is right. We have no potions to heal, no strategies, no knowledge. Our weapons aren’t strong enough- we can’t stop here.”  
Fundy growled and shook his head. “No! Ponk is in no condition to keep moving, let alone fight. We need to give him a break!”

Schlatt narrowed his eyes. “And wait for the thing to come to us instead? No thank you. The best we can do is keep going.”

Fundy was about to reply, but Ponk spoke before him. His voice was slightly shaky. “Guys...” He sighed. Fundy scowled. “Look at Ponks leg, man! Does that look fine to you!?” Quackity visibly cringed. “Yeah, I don’t think I can keep looking at it...”  
Schlat nodded violently.  
“Yes, I see it! I’m not blind! I just mean that we can’t stop right now. We’re wasting time!”

Tubbo tugged on Schlatts sleeve. Schlatt looked down, eyes softening.

He sighed, looking back at Fundy. He lowered his volume. “Look... Taking up more time means the weaker we are, get. I mean, I doubt any of you brought food.”

Tommy searched around his inventory like the others, shrugging hopelessly with no luck.

Fundy frowned. His gaze lingered on Ponks leg. “. . We don’t even know where this thing is.” He sighed.  
Ponk raised a finger. “I might.” Everyone turned to him. Tommy noticed his small frown, probably because he was being stared at by everyone in the room. Ponk grimaced. “It’s where the damn thing almost tore of my leg.” Fundy flattened his ears.

Schlatt gave a look of pity, but crossed his arms cocking one brow. “Yeah?”

Ponk nodded. “It broke down the wall and grabbed me.” He said, furrowing his brows, looking down. “If we can find the hall, it might still be there. If the wall isn’t back up...”

A question washed through Tommy’s mind. Dream asked it for him.

Dream arched a brow. He finally spoke. “How’d you get separated from us, anyway?” He asked. Ponk sighed again. “I was running, but then a wall appeared and I got separated. That’s when I bumped into the thing..”

Tommy widened his eyes. He nodded quickly. “That happened to me, too!” Ponk sighed, looking from Tommy to everyone else. “I swear this place is a fucking labyrinth.”

Schlatt shook his head. “It’s for sure not a labyrinth, but whatever weird ass magic is in here is tryna keep us apart.” Tubbo frowned, raising their hand. “And it could be the reason the pig is giant...” Schlatt grinned at them, clicking his tongue, and shooting a finger gun at them. “Good thinking, Tubs.”

Quackity looked in between them. Dream crossed his arms. “And, how exactly will we do this with an injured person? His injury is very severe. I’m surprised he can even still walk.”  
Tommy glanced at Ponk who had a knowing look, but also a little bit confused. He arched a brow, and looked back to the others.

Schlatt sighed. “Uh...”

Quackity tilted his head. “Maybe someone could help him?” He suggested. Fundy perked up slightly, looking at Ponk who had a confused look. “Maybe you could ride on my back.” The fox said. Ponk frowned, looking away. Then, he sighed and shrugged. “What else can a man do? C’mon.”

Fundy walked over mad ignored Schlatts snickers. He kneeled down, and Ponk hopped up on his back. Though, he was slow at it. “Woah, you're light.” Fundy snickered. Ponk rolled his eyes.

Fundy stood up, and jumped in alarm when Ponk yelped and hissed in pain. He looked back, wide eyes full of concern. “You okay?” He asked.

Ponk whimpered slightly, biting his tongue to hold another back. He swat a hand gently and carelessly. “M’ fine.” He replied. “Just yer’ fur.”

Fundy flattened his ears, looking down at his fur that brushed against Ponks open wound and still bleeding leg. He didn’t mind too much that his fur was getting stained. At the moment, he cared about Ponks pain tolerance.

“It’ll be okay.” Fundy promised. “When we get back to camp we’ll heal you up.”

Ponk nodded.

Schlatt grunted. “Well, let’s not wait any longer.. C’mon.”

.

Ponk visibly shivered at the broken wall in front of them.

Blood splattered on the ground, dripping down the edge of the broken stones. Tommy predicted that it was Ponks blood.

Tubbo frowned and hid behind Schlatt, covering their eyes. Schlatt crossed his arms. “Damn.” He commented. “Looks like shit.”

Ponk nodded, not making a joke. It seemed to catch Fundy off guard. “Mhm.” He said. “Stabbed the thing in the eye with an arrow the first time. Maybe that’s why it targeted me specifically.”

Fundy grinned. “Aw, hell yeah! I was wondering how it lost its eye. Good going, Ponk!” Ponk hid his grateful expression with a scoff. “It was nothing. Anyone could do it.”

Dream pulled his hand away from Tommy’s arm walking up to the wall examining it. He narrowed his eyes, sliding his fingers against the wall.

Quackity frowned, and arched a brow. “Uhh.. What is he doing?” He asked, glancing at all of them.

Most of them instinctively looked at Tommy, who tended. But Tommy for once praised Schlatt for saving him.  
“Simple,” Schlatt held up a hand, “he’s inspecting it.” Quackity’s face scrunched up. “Why the hell would he need to inspect it? It’s simple- blood on a broken wall. Ponk told us what happened.”

Ponk shivered.

“Not really.” Dream said, focused on the wall. He furrowed his eyes with a look of understanding. “The way the walls broke down, it was most likely coming in from the right..”

Quackity raised his brows.

“And the way the blood is smeared,” Dream trailed off for a minute, “the thing must’ve.. Uh, I don’t know if Ponk wants to hear it.” He glanced back.

Ponk sighed and rolled his eyes, waving his hand carelessly. “No, no, go on. I don’t care.”

Dream nodded, and looked back to the wall, looking closely at the blood. “It must’ve dragged Ponks body away. The left. The blood and skin is smeared to the left.”

Tommy grimaced. “Ew, but, okay.”

Tubbo frowned, looking down. “It’s literally disgusting..” They muttered. Quackity nodded violently. Fundy flattened his ears, walking up to Dream.  
“So.. What now?” He asked, turning around. Tommy looked over to Schlatt and Ponk. They were the ones who were leading them. Or, Ponk was.

“Simple. We follow the trail.” Schlatt tried to hide his look of disgust and discomfort at the scene, but recently Tommy has noticed how bad he is at hiding his emotions and feelings, unlike his Schlatt.

Ponk frowned, looking away. Tommy watched him for minute, and then looked back, noticing how the others started to move. He glanced back again. “You coming?” He asked, tilting his head.

Ponk looked up, and nodded.

Tommy was uncertain, but he soon started to follow after them, Ponk soon following behind after a few minutes.

.

George frowns staring at the decorations abandoned on the ground. He glares at a sign placed beside it that said, “hey George! Sorry the others didn’t clean this up. I know you’re seeing this just as you return from-“—another sign placed beside it— “-mining, but I don’t feel like cleaning up, so it’s your responsibility. -Ant :)”

George sighs and grumbles, crouching down and grabbing the decorations. He threw them into a spare chest, looking back at the rest. It was so much. He was tired, and all he wanted to do was lay down.

He pulled out his communicator and stared down at it, staring at the names. His mouth formed a thin line. Where the hell were they? He started to type.

_GeorgeNotFound: Bad_

_BadBoyHalo: George?_

_GeorgeNotFound: come to Tubbo’s celebration_  
  
_GeorgeNotFound: or wherever they did it idk_

George put the communicator back into his pocket and sighed, looking around. He tapped his foot impatiently. 

He should’ve gone to the festival. Or- whatever they called it. He would’ve, but, he was uninterested at the time and didn’t pay too much attention to what Sapnap told him.

They went off without him. It made sense. He wasn’t there, so they didn’t think he wanted to be there. And of course, at first, he didn’t, but now he felt left out.

George groaned quietly, rubbing his face. Where the hell was Bad?

He heard running behind him, and it skidded to a stop. George spun around, arching a brow at the out of breath Bad. “Bad.” He hummed. “What took you so long?”

Bad glared, a hand on his head that was soon brought to his side. “Sorry,” he grumbled, “something came up an- ugh- I wasn’t at the festival.. I didn’t know where to go.” George raised his brows. “It took me two minutes to find it and I didn’t even go.”

Bad flicked his tail, straightening up. He looked irritated, and scowled. “Out of everyone I would expect you to go. Or at least for Sapnap to convince you.”

George looked away smiling softly, it was an amused smile. “Ah, he tried but I didn’t listen.” Bad glared. “That’s rude. You’re so mean to him.” George looked back at him, looking him up and down. “You are too.”

Bad rolled his eyes. “So?” He replied. “I’m aloud to. He’s my best friend.” George scoffed. “Hard to believe. You two are so different from each other.”

Bad furrowed his brows, taking a step back with an offended glare. “Okay..” He said slowly. “And?”

George opened his mouth but got cut off. Bad groaned, rubbing his face. “Okay, wait a minute- did you ask me to come here just to boss me around? ‘Cause I don’t feel like it today, Gogy.”

George ignored the nickname, and raised his brows. “Oh, yeah..” He hummed. “The others left this mess for us to clean up. You’re helping me.”

Bad raised his brows, and then shook his head, crossing his arms. “Uh, no, I’m not.” He glared. “You clean it up. You can do it. It isn’t even that big of a mess.”  
George groaned, rolling his eyes. “Oh, here we go.. DadBoyHalo-“ Bad shook his hands and head. “No, no, no, don’t pull the ‘DadBoyHalo’ shit on me. Really, George, I’m not doing it.”

“Why not?” George asked, narrowing his eyes. Bad was hesitant for a moment, and then sighed. “I’m tried.”  
George widened his eyes mockingly. “You think I’m not? I’ve been mining all day! I’m tired of always being expected to clean your guys’ messes up!”

“I didn’t do this!” Bad exclaimed.

“Neither did I! But again, you and the others expect me to clean it up!” George growled, raising his voice.

Bad shrugged, his arms out, raising his voice as well. “I don’t know what to say, George!”

“I swear to G- wait.” George lowered his volume, frowning. He ignored the strange look he got from Bad. “What if.. And hear me out, what if, we get Sapnap to clean it up for us?”

They both went quiet. George’s mouth twitched into a smirk, and Bad did the same. Bad pointed at him. “Good thinking.” He laughed. He pulled out his communicator and flicked his tail, sneering. 

_BadBoyHalo: Sapnap? You here_

_Sapnap: ya_

_GeorgeNotFound: where r u_

_Sapnap: im with the pig guy :D_

George looked up and gave a lost look. “What?..” Bad waved a hand dismissing him. “Don’t worry about it.”

_BadBoyHalo: cool. Can you pick up the decorations from the festival for us? Me and George are reeeally tired_

_GeorgeNotFound: yeah weve been working all day_

The two waited for a moment. 

_Sapnap: yeah :D_

George clicked his tongue and put away his communicator, smiling at Bad. “And that, my friend, is how you get away with not working.” 

Bad grinned. “Clever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo clicks their tongue with a frown. “Wow. What bully’s.” 
> 
> Tommy furrowed his brows. “If you think about it, it isn’t bullying. It’s like.. White lies.”   
> Tubbo goes silent for a moment, and then nods. “Oh, I get it!”


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy widened his eyes and pointed to the wall. “Stand over there! Fundy doesn’t want you hurt!” Tommy ignored the dirty look from Ponk. Ponk rolled his eyes. “You don’t just expect me to stand here and watch do yo-“ 
> 
> “Watch out!” Dream ran into Ponk, pushing him over, the big hand missing them as it swiped. Ponks eyes were the size of dinner plates. “What the fuck..” He breathed.
> 
> —————
> 
> Ponk hates standing and watching. Tubbo just wants to be useful, but it’s hard when someone holds you back.

Tubbo hid behind Schlatt watching the others bicker of which way to go next.

Their hands were clammy and trying to wipe the sweat off onto their clothes didn't work. It only made it worse. They kept glancing at Ponks torn apart leg, wincing at it and looking away, but for some reason they couldn't stop looking at it constantly. It seemed like every time they looked at it the more detailed and gruesome it got. They mentally sighed and looked back to the others. They felt small. Not being apart of the convo.  
It was when Schlatt started to raise his voice that Tubbo felt smaller. They disliked the yelling. It was as if nobody could make up their minds. Tubbo wished they would all agree on something so they could move on. It wasn't that difficult, right? 

"Yeah, I see it! I'm not blind! I just mean that we can't right now. We're wasting time!" Schlatt spat. Tubbo tugged on his sleeve, looking up at the taller man. Schlatt raised his brows and looked down, eyes visibly softening. Tubbo gave him a frown, furrowing their eyebrows in worry and as if to ask, "please stop." The goat man sighed, eyes lingering on them before he looked up and gave a serious look. "Look... Taking up more time means the weaker we are, get. I mean, I doubt any of you brought food.” Tubbo checked their pockets. No luck. They had eaten most of the food on the way through the tunnel. They really had to stop doing that and wasting food....

Tubbo watched them talk more about where to go, lowering their voices. Schlatt seemed to make sure to hold himself back from bursting out with a yell. Tubbo stared at Ponks leg the whole time as he spoke. That thing almost tore off his leg. What were the possibilities it'd do the same to all of them? They wondered how he was able to get out of that situation. If they were him, they'd just let it all be over with so they could respawn in peace. But the fear of respawning.. 

It had always been so painful even if it got rid of the injuries. It was as if it was still there. You could feel the bruises or the big gash. Tubbo shivers at the thought of it. A very painful process. It was why all them were so careful about it. No one wanted to live with that kind of pain for a few days. Tubbo knew even if Quackity jokes about it, he fears it as well. That was why Tubbo was always so quiet. Either afraid of making someone angry, or it was if something would hear them and come after them. If it killed them, they'd feel it for a few days, and they had died too many times already. 

Before they knew it, everyone was moving. Tubbo ran after Schlatt, sticking to his side. They glanced back and watched Tommy interact with Ponk for a short moment, and turned away once Tommy started to walk after them.

< >

Tubbo grimaced at the smeared blood on the floor. Ponk’s blood, to be exact. The trail seemed to get longer the more they walked, and more bloody. More bloody, meaning, more blood shed on the floor. It wasn’t too much of a big deal. Well, to Tubbo is was. The others didn’t seem too bothered by it. Tubbo didn’t understand why. Them and Tommy seemed to be the only ones visibly uncomfortable. Then again, they were walking behind the group. No comments were being made as they walked.

Dreams grip on Tommy’s arm only seemed to get tighter. Tubbo thought about asking him nicely to let go, but they’ve learned their lesson the hard way about asking of that. Tommy and Dream were usually inseparable, except now Tommy seemed a little more uncomfortable with always being in the orders sight. Dream was just protective like that. 

Every now and then Tubbo’d feel the ground shake, roars in the distance. They predicted it to be the giant pig, gianpig as Tommy called it, but they preferred giant. 

Tommy groaned in front of them. Tubbo frowned, leaning forward to look in front of them. The hallway led on. They wondered how long they had been down here. How much time they had wasted or lost. They hadn’t gotten any messages from Antfrost, or Sapnap in a few days, so they figured a few days, last night counting one. Or two. Or, they just didn’t realize they were gone.

That made more sense.

“So..” Tommy said, after a few minutes of his groan. “Anyone.. Got a good conversation? To... Pass time?” Tubbo stared for a moment when Tommy made eye contact with them, and then shook their head with a shrug. Tommy huffed, turning away.  
Schlatt glanced back, narrowing his eyes. He then looked back towards them, sighing. “Anyone get any messages from anyone back at L’manburg?” He asked. Tubbo saw Tommy give a weird look. “My communicator was.. Eaten by the giant.”

Dream sighed, giving a look a pity, which Schlatt visibly disliked. Schlatt shot daggers at the hooded man, crossing his arms and looking away. “The thing slipped outta my pocket, ‘kay? Not too upset about it.” Quackity frowned. “Niki made us those.” He said.  
Tommy perked up. “Niki?” He said aloud. Tubbo smiled with a nod, walking up beside him. “Mhm!” They said. “You weren’t there, but, we managed to convince her to make us some.” Tommy looked over to Fundy who laughed slightly. “Yeah,” the fox said, “we payed her by cake!” 

Tommy smiled gently, tilting his head slightly. “Hm.” He hummed. “How- ouch!” He jumped, gritting his teeth. He glared up at Dream. “Could you hold my arm any tighter!?” 

Dream furrowed his brows looking down at Tommy. “Sorry..” He muttered. His grip didn’t seem to loosen. Tubbo watched Tommy glared at him for a few more seconds, before looking away. “What were you saying, Tommy?” Fundy asked, looking behind him at Tommy. Tommy sighed, shaking his head. “. . . Nothing.”

Schlatt muttered something under his breath and looked away. “Tubbo.” He said. It sounded more like a command, one Tubbo knew too well. They looked at Tommy who was looking back at them, and then they jogged up to Schlatts side. They looked up at the taller man, giving a look of curiosity.  
Schlatt looked down at them. “Can you do something for me?” He asked, voice low and quiet. Tubbo stared up at him with wide eyes, and then nodded. “Mhm.” They hummed. “Communicator.” He said dully. Tubbo knew to pull theirs out, and handed it to Schlatt. They didn’t need a thank you, because a small nod from the goat man was enough. 

Schlatt took it and typed, making sure to hold it low enough for Tubbo to see. Tubbo tilted their head. “How will we know George will come?” They asked. Schlatt rolled his eyes and handed Tubbo back their device. “Eh, as stubborn as the guy is, he’ll know to come to our rescue. Likes the praise.” 

“So you’re just going to ask George?” Tubbo asked, arching a brow. Schlatt sighed. “He’ll bring someone else, for sure. But depending on how prideful he is...” Tubbo grumbled, looking away. “Most likely will come alone...”

Dream laughed. “He’ll do something stupid.” Schlatt turned, narrowing his eyes. Dream arched a brow. “You guys are loud.”  
A groan came from Fundy, who grunted when Ponk shifted on his back. Ponk grimaced at his leg, staring down. “George is coming?” Fundy asked. “Really?” Tommy frowned. “What’s your deal with George? I mean, he’s a bitch but...” 

Dream gave Tommy a cautious look. Tommy looked up, and the two locked eyes for a minute, before Tommy looked back at Fundy. Fundy flattened his ears and sighed. “He’s always messing up my stuff.” He said. “Not only that.. He just- he’s a bitch.”  
Tommy raised his brows with a small nod and looked in front of him to everyone else. Tubbo frowned. “He’s not that bad..” They awed. Ponk grinned. “Yeah! He’s actually pretty nice!” Tubbo watched Fundy roll his eyes, narrowing his eyes at a wall. “To you he is. I don’t know what he has against me, but it’s something...” 

Tubbo’s frown became more wide as the others began to talk. They looked over to Schlatt, who was calmly defending George. Or, he looked calm. His expressions were relaxed as he closed his eyes for a minute talking, giving a small shrug and talking with his hands, soon opening his eyes again and giving a small judging look at someone. And when someone said something that proved a statement wrong he would flick his ears nervously, look to the wide to avoid eye contact. But, Schlatt was never really wrong. 

He was mostly right, and his statements always made sense. That was why Tubbo looked up to him so much. Sure, they’d follow Schlatt around like a dog but he didn’t seem to mind much. If anything, he looked pleased. Possibly that Tubbo had an idol, or pleased that he was the one Tubbo admired. 

Tubbo was snapped out of their thoughts by a rumble. 

It went silent. No one talked, and Tubbo was sure no one breathed either. Their eyes darted around the hallway. They took a small step backwards, and flinched when Schlatt put a hand on their shoulder to stop them from moving any further. Tubbo looked up to Schlatt who put a finger on his lips, a silent ‘shhh’. 

Tubbo looked back. Ponk tightly hugged Fundys chest, keeping himself up on his back and trying to be as quiet as possible. He was tense, and his wife eyes stared down the darkness of the hallway. Fundys ears were flattened against his head, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Quackity, who Tubbo almost forgot about due to his silence, furrowed his brows and locked eyes with Tubbo. Dream gripped Tommy’s arm, a small frown on his face that was surprisingly calm, while Tommy didn’t seem to care about the pain in his arm anymore, only looking around cautiously. 

The wall broke and in came an obnoxiously pink colored hand, trying to grab whatever it could. Quackity screamed, backing up, pointing at it. “Fucking-“ Tommy yelped, trying to pull away from Dream.  
Schlatt pulled Tubbo back, getting in front of them. Tubbo didn't need the protection, but they didn’t bother snapping at the goat man in that moment. Tubbo watched Fundy almost trip to the ground, catching Ponk in the moment, who trembled. 

“Looks like it found us first..” Schlatt murmured. Tubbo pulled out their sword, watching as the wall crumbled down, the hole getting bigger. It managed to peep his head in, and it stared all of them down. Tubbo shivered, getting a good look at it.  
It’s eye was torn out, or clawed out, and dirt was scattered all around its face. It reeked of rotten flesh, while blood covered it’s face and hands. Possibly Ponk’s blood, Tubbo thought. Then again, it could have been whoever else came down here. It had to have gotten food somehow. 

Schlatt backed up, his shoes screeching on the ground. “You guys remember where the room is, right?” He asked, backing up more as it tried to fit itself into the hallway. Dream nodded. “I do.” He said, pulling Tommy back to his side. Tommy made a sound of protest, but didn’t move. Quackity raised a hand. “Me too.” The others shook their heads.

Tubbo forgot as well. It seemed they were too focused on conversations more than a direction. Fundy and Ponk constantly seemed lost in thought, and Tommy just stared, but Tubbo had noticed how Dream scanned his surroundings while talking, and Quackity had been silent the whole time. 

Quackity was good at that, being quiet. That was probably why he was so good at navigating and remembering. When Tubbo glanced back, Quackity always seemed to observe everything around him. There were times where he was loud, but most of the time he walked silently paying attention to every little detail. Tubbo knew if they got lost, Quackity could be the one to show the way.

Tubbo yelped as Schlatt pulled them down the hallway. They felt like Tommy for a split second. They didn’t protest, though, because at the moment their life mattered more than their feelings. The loud footsteps behind them freaked them out enough, and they could see how Ponk visibly gripped onto Fundys jacket more. 

Poor Fundy looked like he was ready to slow down. Having someone on your back probably didn’t help his exhaustion. But he pushed through, soon running faster than before when the footsteps got closer. 

“Not fun going through this twice!” Schlatt said, breaths layered. Fundy gave a crazed laugh, coughing afterwards. “My second time, too! Almost got eaten the first time!” Ponk didn’t say anything, but it looked like he was replying in his thoughts, glancing back at Schlatt and giving Fundy a tired look. 

The footsteps got further away, and Tubbo almsot stopped, but Schlatt continued to pull them. “Don’t let it fool you,” he said, looking to the others, “did that the first time and next thing I know it’s in my face.” Tommy furrowed his brows. “So you think it’s the same thing as the walls getting closer?” He asked.   
Quackity’s face scrunched up. “The walls getting closer?” Tubbo frowned. Schlatt groaned, rolling his eyes. He didn’t reply at first, taking time to catch his breath again. “Some stupid magic here or something-“— he tripped on his feet, Tubbo pushing him back up before he could fall—“causing the walls to do some weird shit. Same with the footsteps- that thing sounds farther but it’s close, trust me.” 

Dream skidded to a stop, causing Schlatt and the others to as well. Schlatt looked back behind him frantically, widening his eyes. “The fucking hell you doin’!?” He asked. Tubbo could feel him begging to move forward, to keep going. Fear radiated off him. “I-“ Dream stammered, looking around. “I forgot-“   
“Damnit..” Schlatt muttered. He jumped as the further footsteps got louder. Tommy looked up at Dream with wide eyes. He sounded terrified. “Fucking do something man!” 

“I know!” Quackity said, wanting to move as well. “I remember clear as day! We take a right and go forward, left and then the rooms there! Remember where Ponk got attacked.” 

Ponk shakily grumbled. “Thanks for the reminder..-“

“Then go! Stop stalling!” Fundy yelled, soon bolting. Ponk yelled in surprise, gripping the fox's jacket. Schlatt tugged Tubbo, pulling them along running after Fundy, while Quackity and the other two ran behind. 

The footsteps continued to go after them, loud stomps causing the ground to tremble. Tubbo almost tripped twice, and could’ve been dead meat if it wasn’t for Schlatts company. 

Tubbo felt Schlatt pull away from them, allowing them to slide to the right and continue to run. Them saw the broke down wall in the distance, blood splattered on the ground. They avoided the blood as they turned to run down the hallway, their nose scrunching up at the smell. 

“Left or right?” Fundy called back. Tubbo saw a left and right turn coming up. “Left!” Quackity called, getting ahead of Fundy. Fundy followed, turning to his right. They were close to the crystals. Tubbo almost believed the giant could sense it, due to the slowed down footsteps, but they sped up debunking their theory. 

Quackity skidded to a halt causing Fundy to bump into him, almost dropping Ponk and tripping himself. Tubbo stared up at the bright crystals, grinning. “We made it!” They said, breathless. Schlatt ran in front of them, looking back. “Yeah, but we’re not done yet..” 

Ponk pulled out his bow, looking around. Fundy poked him and handed him a stack of arrows, which he gratefully took. Tubbo watched Fundy help him down, pulling him to the side. “Stay.” Fundy glared. Ponk perked up. “What?” He asked, furrowing his brows. “No way! I’m helping!” 

They were muffled as Tubbo jumped back, the giant running into the room. Everyone got out of its way, staring up at it. It growled, looking at each and everyone one of them, seeming to pick out its victims. 

Schlatt pushed Tubbo back, handing them a diamond axe. “Stay here.” He said, pulling out a nethorite sword. Tubbo raised their brows. “I wanna help!” They said, holding up the axe. It was heavy. Schlatt sighed. “I know—“— the giant roared—“—but I can’t have you hurt.” Tubbo glared, feeling angry for the first time in a while. “No, I’m helping. You can’t make me stay back.” 

Schlatt rubbed his face, looking back at the others who were charging in with a sword or another weapon. He looked to Tubbo. “I know,” he said, “but I can ask you to. Please. For me?” 

Tubbo huffed in protest, but sighed. They locked eyes with Schlatt, who looked desperate. What the hell...   
“Fine, alright..” Tubbo murmured. Schlatt gave a small grateful grin, backing up, holding up his sword. “Thanks, kiddo...” He said. “If anything happens you have that axe.” 

Tubbo nodded, looking down at the weapon in their possession. Yeah. They’d fuck that thing up if it came near them. 

They watched Schlatt run off. 

< >

Ponk glared. “I’m going to help! Just because I have a stupid injury doesn’t mean I’ll stay back!” Fundy glared back, holding out a hand back at the scene behind them. Tubbo stood to the side gripping an axe, Schlatt pointed a crossbow at it, with a sword in his left hand, Dream was charging in with a sword, Tommy was trading items with Quackity. Hell- he couldn’t just sit here and watch!

“Your ‘stupid injury’ is major, and you have no skin left! It’s pale—“—Fundy grimaced at the sight—“—and- just fucked up! What if you lose your leg!?” 

Ponk rolled his eyes. “If I respond I’ll just get it back..” Possibly. He ignored the feeling of worry, the thought of the last time he responded and his leg was still torn up. Somehow, they ignored his statement of, “my dead body” and “I healed it with potions”. He was sure Tubbo or Quackity noticed by their looks, but he wouldn’t say a thing about it.

“Yeah- but- Its a painful process!” Fundy growled. “It’s better to stay here, where you’re safe.” 

Fundy wouldn’t give up, and Ponk knew. He wanted to help. He could try, but he knew he would fail because of Fundy, who was always in his way. He didn’t understand why the hybrid wouldn’t just let him get his way. 

A yell. Fundy and Ponk glanced back. Tommy waved a hand. Fundy groaned, turning to Ponk. “They need my help. Stay.” 

Fundy ran off before Ponk could deny. Ponk sighed in defeat, and there he was left with a flimsy bow and arrows, watching the others fight. He looked down at the bow which he held, and gripped it tight. He wouldn’t stand here and watch. Plus, the pain in his leg wasn’t even there anymore. It was just numb and cold. It reeked of rotten, but it looked fine. Almost..

Ponk glared at Fundy who was trying to climb on top of it. He’d kill himself. Ponk ran in, raising his bow and pulling back the string, an arrow in place ready to shoot. He let go, watching the arrow hit its arm. It didn’t do much, but it was something. Enough to make Ponk feel like he was doing something. 

Tommy pushed him, Ponk stumbled back. “The hell man?” Ponk growled, glaring. Tommy gave him a worried look. “You almost.. God, watch out..” 

Tommy widened his eyes and pointed to the wall. “Stand over there! Fundy doesn’t want you hurt!” Tommy ignored the dirty look from Ponk. Ponk rolled his eyes. “You don’t just expect me to stand here and watch do yo-“ 

“Watch out!” Dream ran into Ponk, pushing him and Tommy over, the big hand missing them as it swiped. Ponks eyes were the size of dinner plates. “What the fuck..” He breathed. Tommy gasped for air, and let out a crazed and shaky laugh. “Holy-“ 

Dream grabbed Tommy’s arm and pulled him up harshly. “Dont stand still! I won’t be able to help you if you’re dead!” He growled. Tommy glared. “Back off, dick head!” 

Ponk stood, dusting himself off. His leg ached. Ah, now it hurts. Dream pulled Tommy away, Tommy yelling at him with harsh words. Ponk watched them with a confused look, and then looked over to find Fundy with crossed arms. “The hell are you- get back over there!” Ponk glared, soon grabbing Fundys hand and pulling him along. He ran towards the giant. “No! I’m helping, that’s final.” 

Fundy shook his head but before he could yell, a hand swiped down at them, hitting Fundy harshly to the side. Fundy yelped, hitting the ground. Ponk widened his eyes. “Fun-“ his side felt like it had been ripped off, even if he looked down and it was still in place. He fell to the ground, sounds muffling around him. 

< >

Tubbo climbed up the crystals, grunting as they pulled themselves up. They shivered looking down. They hated heights, and the height of the crystals didn’t help. Tubbo knew Schlatt’d be pissed, but that didn’t matter. They’d do their best to help. 

The weight of the axe made it more difficult to stay in place, and their feet supported their position of where one arm balanced itself, pushing off of the gem, and his feet and legs hugging it. They held the axe with their right hand. Tubbo wished they had a pickaxe, but an axe would have to do. 

Tubbo held up the axe, and swung into the gem. They looked. The crystal did not break, not even a chip. They groaned, and glared at the axe. “Come on!” Tubbo said, frowning. “Please?..” 

They held it up again, and swung the same as before. They looked down to see a small chip in the gem, and grinned. That’d to the trick! Tubbo swung again, and a few more times, making the chip bigger.   
“Tubbo! What the fu-“ Tubbo looked down. Schlatt stared up with wide worried eyes. Tubbo finally took a good look of what was happening below them. Tommy and Dream stood beside each other, dodging the swings from the pig. Quackity, Ponk and Fundy were nowhere to be seen. Schlatt’s crossbow was missing, but he still had his sword. 

“Get down!” Schlatt yelled. Tubbo shook their head. “No!” They simply said. Tubbo swung the axe again, looking back down. “I have a plan!”   
Schlatt looked around him, backing up. “..I hope you know what you’re doing!” He said. 

Tubbo sighed and raised the axe again, soon swinging. A clank, and Tubbo had to use their arm of balance to catch the broken off piece of crystal. They almost fell, but fortunately their legs kept them in place. Tubbo grunted. They’d have to get down somehow. 

They stuffed the crystal into their pack, doing the same with their axe. Tubbo climbed down slowly, making sure not to slip. They hopped down when the height wasn’t too bad, pulling out the crystal and gripping it like a lifeline. They ran up to Schlatt, who had a bow.

Schlatt turned to them. “Took Ponks bow.” He said, breathless. “I needs an upgrade but it’s a weapon.” He held it up pulling on the string and shot. Tubbo held up the piece of the crystal. “Look.” They said. Schlatt looked and then grinned. “Good going, kid! What you gonna do with it?” 

The giant roared. Dream yelped after getting thrown across the room. He grunted, pulling himself up slowly. He looked up at the beast that came towards him. Dream wiped the blood from his nose, glaring and gripping his sword. It’s hand went out to grab him, but Dream blinked and suddenly it hissed, turning around.

Tubbo had small pieces of crystals, a bigger chunk behind them that Schlatt was cutting up with a pickaxe. They threw the pieces at the pig, backing up while they did so. Distracting it? Possibly. It gave Dream time to pull himself together and catch his breath, get prepared. He looked over to find Tommy grinning, mouthing something like “brilliant!”

The pig backed up, grunting and yelping as the crystals burned its skin. It backed up, tripping on its feet, falling backwards into the crystals behind it. They shattered as it fell. 

Dream covered his ears, taking a step back. Soon there was silence. Dream looked over to find Quackity running into the room from the hallway, wide eyes watching the scene. He held potions, a latter. He wore iron armor. Was that the armor from Tommy’s chest? Had he gone up?

“I’m late.” Quackity said, breathless. Tommy gave a weak laugh. “Hell yeah.” 

Dream heard Tubbo gasp, and turned to watch them run over to a corner. Dream ran towards them for company, and skidded to a stop. “Oh no..” Tubbo frowned. “Ponk- Fundy..” 

Dream put a hand on their shoulder. “Don’t worry,” he said, “we’ll help them. Let’s get out of here..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo
> 
> I’ve finally updated, yes. I know, it’s been so long. I haven’t had too much time to write, but luckily I’ve taken as much time as I’ve been offered to write this chapter up. Fight scenes are hard, but it worked out in the end! 
> 
> Ranboo joining the server? Yes. It’s only been 24 hrs and he’s already causing chaos! How do you guys feel abt it?
> 
> Anyways. Thanks for reading! I’m sure there are some small spelling mistakes, but I’ll fix that as time goes on.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tubbo decides they all need some rest after recent events. Tommy feels homesick. Dream isn’t the best at comforting, and Fundy is tired of how casual Ponk acts after his leg was almost torn off by a pig. 
> 
> Quackity figures how much advantage he gets from being silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Check out the part 2 thing I made for this series :) making the chapters a bit shorter to get to the point of the story, too, but not too short. Calm chapter today.

Tommy tightens his grip on the red fabric. The pillow under his head was soft, so he was thankful for that, but the blanket felt like paper. It was so thin. He shivered slightly, but the parts of the sun that shined down on him through the trees give him some sort of warmth. 

Tommy frowns, trying to blink back tears. It didn’t matter how crazy Wilbur was acting back at home, or how shitty it was in L’manberg. He missed home. He wanted to go home and see Tubbo, listen to him ramble on about his favorite things and grin at Tommy. Not shy away and look fearful of him. He wanted to see Wilbur, despite how distant and insane he was acting, who still had his moments of gentle smiles and hugs. He didn’t miss Techno as much.

Who was he kidding? Techno was his brother. He could say he hated him as much as he wanted to, but Techno was still family. Part of Tommy believed that there was still that small part of Techno from back then, where he’d pick Tommy up and spar with him, give him a gentle smile and sometimes a hug. He missed how simple those days were. He wanted to grow up so badly, but now he wanted to be younger. 

Tommy missed Phil. Phil, who hadn’t sent him a single message in so long. Phil, who would’ve probably sided with Techno through this, but try to help everyone else out in any way he could. Tommy could try to trick his mind into thinking Phil was there just to feel his dads hugs, but he knew well it wasn’t possible. Maybe if he was insane, like Wilbur, but Tommy believed he was sane enough.

Tommy choked on a sob, trying to quiet himself. He rubbed at his face. He knew he wouldn’t be home in a while, because they weren’t even close to a portal, and wouldn’t be for a while. He heard the bed creek when someone sat down on it. Tommy covered his face.

“Toms?” A gentle voice asked. Dream. Of course he knew the voice from anywhere. “Dont fucking look at me.” Tommy said, humor edging in his voice. “Imma’ mess.” Dream let out a soft chuckle, and shook his head. Tommy pulled his hands down and sighed, rubbing his face one last time and sitting up on the bed. “I’m homesick, Dream.” He said.

Dream frowned. He let out small ‘oh’. Tommy examined the un-masked man. He didn’t seem comfortable trying to comfort Tommy, obviously. “Don’t bother with pity.” Tommy said, waving a hand. “I hate pity...”  
Dream hummed looking down. “Tommy always did hate it.” He said. Tommy stared at him for a minute and then shifted off the bed, standing up. He cleared his throat. “I’m gonna go chop some wood. Maybe to take my mind off of things.” Tommy grimaced at how rough his voice sounded, and walked off before Dream could say anything. 

Dream sighed, looking down to his feet.

~~~~

Fundy glared, ears pinned on his head. “So what, you’ll just be fine for the rest of the trip?” He asked, arching a brow. Ponk rolled his eyes and pulled his leg up onto the bed. “Yup.” He said, popping the ‘p’. “Been through shit like this before.” Fundy furrowed his brows. “Yeah, when you’ve respawned with no injuries!” Ponk hid his face, expression not read. “You didn’t respawn this time, Ponk! That’s why you’re leg is fucked.”

Ponk looked up at Fundy glaring. “So? You want me to jump off a cliff so I can come back and be all healed?” He asked. “Maybe, oh, I don’t know.. Health potions are an option?” Fundy shook his head, and sighed. “We’re all out. Would have to go and get more resources.” Then, he narrowed his eyes back up at Ponk. “And no! No jumping off cliffs!”  
“I wasn’t going to.” Ponk growled. “I was just giving an example. God, why do we always have to fight?” He asked. Fundy shrugged dramatically. “I don’t know!” He exclaimed. “Maybe because you’re so stubborn and stupid?” Ponk shook his head violent. “I’m not! Hey man, I helped us kill that thing!” 

“Ponk, you literally got your leg almost torn off by a pug. A giant ass pig- and you’re acting like you’re fine with it?” Fundy bridged the edge of his snout. “We might never eat pork again because of your Swinophobia.” Ponk snorted. “What is that? A fear of pigs?” Fundy nodded simply, his expression still cold and hard. But he cared, Ponk knew. That was why he was yelling. Ponk frowned. “Wait- that’s a thing?” He raised his brows when Fundy nodded again.  
“Yeah, man.” Fundy said. Ponk glared. “I’m not scared of pigs, oh my god.” He groaned. “And how would I be scared of pork? The pig would already be dead, man.” Fundy shrugged. “I don’t know! I’m just trying to show a point!”

Ponk held out his hands. “Exactly! You’re tryna’ prove a point that has no meaning or evidence! It’s stupid!” Fundy backed away, and rubbed his furry face. “I can’t fight with you right now, Ponk.” He said, voice slightly muffled due to his paws. “I’m.. Look, I was just scared. I was worried about you, and that’s something I will not deny.”  
Fundy ignored his Ponk’s gaze softened. “I don’t need anyone getting hurt,” Fundy said, “and we don’t have all the resources to heal everyone at the moment. I think Schlatt stole them all the night he fucking snuck off...”

Ponk rolled his eyes. “Stupid bitch.” He muttered, but a smile laid upon his face. “Tried to get Dream that dog.” He explained, seeing how Fundys face filled with curiosity and awe. “Said it’d lighten up the mood. Dream explained all these dog facts to him. That’s why apparently dogs calm people down when pet.”  
Fundy smiled slightly and sighed. “Though, I don’t know why he took all of them just to get a dog. You said he told you, right?” Fundy arched a brow. Ponk mentally slapped himself in the head. When they got back, Ponk woke up in so much pain that he had taken all the potions and in a moment of panic, he said Schlatt took them. Schlatt could discard his tale. Ponk tried to change the subject. “Uh huh. Thank you for caring, Fundy, but really. I’m fine.” Fundy sent Ponk a gentle smile. “If something was wrong, I’d tell you. You know that.” Fundy had a small grin, and nodded. “Yeah..” He quietly said. “You want anything? I’m gonna get some potato’s.”

Ponk smiled. “Baked potato’s sound nice.” 

~~~~

Tubbo sighs looking around the camp. They can hear Ponk and Fundy bickering, which they do a lot. They can hear Tommy’s quiet sob which he’s managed to keep low, but Tubbo’s good at hearing. Why he’s crying? Tubbo does not know why, but they don’t go to check on him after they see Dream walk into one of the tents. Tubbo looks over at Schlatt who’s trying to start the fire.

“Schlatt?” Tubbo said, hoping their voice wasn’t too quiet. Schlatt glanced up. “Yeah Tubs?” Tubbo fiddled with their fingers, giving Schlatt a sad stare. Schlatt’s eyes softened and he got up, walking over, and sitting on the bed. “What’s up?” Schlatt asked. Tubbo appreciated his soft gaze in which made them feel safe, not pressured. “I’m worried.”  
“Worried?” Schlatt smiled slightly. “About what? Tubs, we’re outta that pit and away from the monster.” Tubbo nodded, and then shrugged. They looked over at the tents. “Yeah, not about that.” They said. “About everyone else. Ponks leg was seriously injured and he acts as if it’s mild.” 

Schlatt stared at the tents for a moment and then sighed. “It’s Ponk here.” He said. “Too stubborn to really acknowledge his problems. He’ll be fine, trust me.” Schlatt grimaced. “It’ll be painful to recover from, but he will.” Tubbo nodded with a small hum. Schlatt had a point, but it didn’t mean their concerns were fully washed away. Tubbo realized Schlatt was talking. “George said to ‘fuck off’ and that he wouldn’t risk getting killed for our stupidity.” Schlatt grumbled. “Don’t know why I trusted on asking him to come.”  
Tubbo sent a grin, chuckling slightly. “It’s George. He’s done this before. I don’t know what you predicted.” Schlatt glared at no one, but at the trees. He shook his head. “I predicted maybe he’d get his head out of his ass and come to help us.”

Tubbo smiled. “He’s always been an ass.” They chuckled. Schlatt grinned back at them. “Got that right. Come on, kid, let’s get something ta’ eat.” Schlatt Pat Tubbo’s back, pulling them up. Tubbo glanced back at the tents before sighing and walking after Schlatt. 

~~~~

Quackity sighed, rubbing his face. They probably would’ve been dead by now if he hadn’t remembered the directions. Sure, they’d respawn, but it’d be a very painful process.  
It was interesting to him how much he could do and remember when quiet. Talking, in his opinion, was overrated. If he could, Quackity would choose to make the whole world quiet for at least a day. Maybe it’d prove his point.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy feels uneasy. The group hasn’t helped his anxiety.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Turns out, Tubbo used he/him. In a stream he didn’t know where the they/them came from. My mistake :) therefore I’m using he/him for Tubbo now. Just making it known!
> 
> Sorry I haven’t been updating much. But I’ll try to make it more often. I’m not the best at what I write but I mean, I get better everyday, I hope. Also, thank you for the wonderful feedback! Does anyone even read notes?

Tommy looked up at the sky, swinging his legs on the block. He looked down below him. He was quite high, which made him nervous, also making his hands clammy, but he didn’t mind it too much. Wasn’t this what the reverse coaster was made for? Wilbur from behind called to him.

“Are you going to sit there all day? I don’t want to have to do this parkour all on my own.”

Tommy cracked a small smile glancing back. “Go on your own, big man.” He said. He sent his older brother a smile, looking back up. Wilbur chuckled, jumping down to sit next to him. The block was wide enough. “What’s so interesting about the sky right now, Toms?” Wilbur asked. “It’s just, blue?”

Tommy shrugged. “I like making pictures out of the clouds.” He said, glancing over at Wilbur. Wilbur looked up, and hummed in interest. “I see.” He said. “And what do you see?”  
Tommy pointed to one particular cloud. “Looks like Henry.” He commented, smiling. Wilbur examined it for a minute, and then nodded. “I can see it.” He said, tittering quietly. He raised his brows and pointed at another cloud. “Looks like a goat.” He said. Tommy rolled his eyes and narrowed them at the sky too. “I think it’s a ram, Wilbs.” Wilbur grinned. “Same thing?”

Tommy laughed and shook his head. “I’m pretty sure they aren’t but- go off.” Wilbur smiled, and then exhaled. This was nice, Tommy thought. Just the two of them gazing at clouds, making pictures out of them. “Have you done this before?” Tommy asked. Wilbur nodded in the corner of his eye. “Used to. With Phil.” Tommy smiled sadly. “How is he? Phil?”  
Wilbur was silent for a long while. “..I don’t know.” He looked down. “I wish.. He was here.” Tommy frowned, leaning his head onto his brothers shoulder. “It’s okay.” He said reassuringly. Or tried. “Maybe we’ll see him again?”

Wilbur smiled sweetly at Tommy. “It’s a good thought Tommy.” He said. What was left out was, ‘but I doubt it’. Tommy smiled back and looked up.

“I always write him letters every now and then.” Wilbur said after a moment of silence. Tommy hummed, glancing over with interest. He hadn’t talked with Phil in a long while. But Wilbur didn’t look like he was in much comfort. “I can never bring myself to send them.” Wilbur soon said. Tommy frowned, waiting for more, but he never got anything else. Wilbur had sat up and stared down. “Why not?” Tommy asked. Wilbur bitterly smiled and sent a shrug. “I feel like he’d be disappointed with what I’ve made.” He replied, looking up to the flag. Tommy’s frown deepened, and he too looked up.

“..He’d be proud.” Tommy promised. “I know Phil. He would.” Wilbur didn’t seem to be convinced, but he sent Tommy a warm smile. “Thanks, Tommy.” He said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Tommy scooted closer, leaning against him. “Love ya’ Wilbs.” Tommy said, looking down at the podium. They would win this. It would be okay. Wilbur smiled. “Love you too, Toms.”

———

Tommy missed Wilbur.

Tommy stared down at his feet, ignoring how close Dream was. He was very protective, which Tommy was used to due to his Dream in his universe. But he wasn’t used to Dream being protective over him. Dream didn’t spare any information, which had put Tommy in a bad mood, but it would be okay. He just wished he knew more.

They had packed up and took down the camp, making their way to where the map was leading them. Schlatt had said it was a portal, Ponk on the other hand disagreed and said it was a mineshaft. Tommy saw obviously that it was the Nether portal. These two weren’t too bright, Dream had said, and had also mentioned how bad they were at reading maps, but no one else was too good at it either. Tommy could’ve helped, but his reputation here wasn’t welcoming.

Fundy was quiet the whole way, almost as quiet as Quackity, which was unnerving. Didn’t help that Quackity’s silence made Tommy more uncomfortable. He would admit that he missed the guys yelling and loud remarks. Tommy had hesitantly asked Fundy about it on the way, and the hybrid had replied with his worry of Ponk. Well, Tommy and him seemed to be in good terms. Tommy had reassured Fundy Ponk would be fine, but Fundy didn't seem to trusting.

Schlatt narrowed his eyes at the map in his hand and sighed, handing it out to Quackity from behind him. “Help us out, will ya’ Quackity?” He asked, sounding bored. Quackity gave a surprised expression, and took it without hesitance. Seemed he was getting tired of countless walking, too. He scanned the paper for a minute, and then hummed. “Here.” He said. Tommy had missed his voice. It was nice to have something fill the silence. “Take a right. We should be there in a few minutes.”

Schlatt had thanked him with a hum and took it back, looking down. “Also,” Quackity said, “it’s a Nether portal.” Tommy quietly claimed victory in his head. “Not just a portal.” Quackity rolled his eyes. Schlatt glared. “I said portal.” He said, shaking his head. “Same thing.”

Quackity gave him a bored look. “There are millions of portals. Not just one.” Schlatt glared back at him. “And those are?” Schlatt asked. Tubbo spoke up. “Can we just- not fight? Please?” Schlatt barked a laugh. “Yeah, Alex, go back to being quiet.” Quackity slightly widened his eyes in surprise, and then scoffed quietly, looking down. Tommy furrowed his brows. He didn’t say anything, but it bothered him how snarky Schlatt was. Didn’t surprise him that Schlatt was still a dick in this universe.

Dream must’ve noticed the negative energy around them, he reached out to grab Tommy’s arm which Tommy had tried to pull away but Dream caught it. Tommy had caught onto his actions. He’d grab Tommy’s arm as either a feeling of protection or support when there was some negative force around them. Sometimes he’d do it out of instinct. It made Dream comfortable, but it didn’t mean Tommy felt the same.

“Do they do this a lot?” Tommy whispered to Dream. Dream nodded silently, and then spoke quietly. “Rarely, actually.” He corrected. “But when they do I don’t like the feeling I get. Sorry about your arm.” He said. Tommy nodded. “Uh, it’s fine.” He lied. “Can ya’ take it off?” Dream hesitated, but complied, pulling his arm away. Tommy hummed in satisfaction. “Thank you.”

Tommy ignored the way Dream was stopping himself from doing it again.

They stopped in front of ruined portal. Schlatt grinned, walking up and rummaging through a loot chest. He pulled out some gold and a golden sword, examining it and stuffing it into his pack. “Ah, taking things for yourself now?” Schlatt turned and gave a dirty look to Quackity, who had a risen a brow and crossed his arms. “What’s your deal?” Schlatt asked. Quackity rolled his eyes walking up, resting his arms by his sides. “Nothing, I just think that maybe one of us could use it. Ponk, maybe? He’s injured, could use some protection.”

Ponk glared from behind them. “You guys act like I can’t protect myself.. just because of a leg.” Fundy frowned.

“Ponks fine!” Schlatt said, looking to the man. “See? Standing, breathing. He’s not dead!” Quackity shook is head. “He could, though! Look at that leg, man, it’s fucked!” Tommy frowned. He hesitantly said to Ponk, “uh, how many lives do you have?”  
Ponk arched a brow. “...Lives?” He asked. “Wh- infinite? I don’t get what you’re saying, Tommy..” Dream tilted his head from beside him, sending him a lost look. Tommy furrowed his brows. “You guys don’t have.. Y’know- three lives? Normally we all get three lives..” Tubbo shook his head. He abandoned Fundy who had jogged up beside him after, trying to keep their conversation in mind so they could speak later. He looked upset. Tommy wouldn’t blame him. Tubbo abandoned their conversation.

“We don’t have three lives.” Tubbo said. “We live forever. When did we get three?” Tommy stammered. “We- we’ve always-.. Never mind.” Tommy backed up beside Dream, looking down. This place was different. Tubbo opened his mouth to speak. “Hey, guys, what’re you waiting for?” They turned their heads to see Schlatt waving them towards the portal. “Let’s go, don’t keep us waiting.”

Tommy looked for Quackity. He must’ve gone into the portal already. “Right, sorry.” He called, walking up to the portal. He sucked in a breath and took a step forward, getting ready for the effects of the portal. Which he hated.

He ignored the way Dream looked anxious when he stepped into the portal alone. God, that man made him angry.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for all your support! Expect new chapters coming out daily, twice a day, or randomly. :) I have a new story out. It’s a one shots, check it out!


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